


Other Fish in the Sea

by nebulas (strawberry_bee)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Mermaid Hanzo, except for jesse emily and angela, mermaid au, mermaid tracer, mermaid zarya, there's definitely some global warming shit going on too, you know what they're all mermaids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-10-06 20:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10343862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_bee/pseuds/nebulas
Summary: Jesse McCree is just trying to settle into his newfound job as a fisherman off the gulf of Mexico. Unbeknownst to him, he's about to make the most important catch of his life that leads him into a whole slew of problems. Angela and Satya get flirted with by a vibrant merman. Tracer makes the grave mistake of accidentally almost drowning a really pretty girl. Zarya is the coolest mermaid matriarch you've ever met.





	1. Chapter 1

Jesse leaned over the edge of the boat, staring into the water below. He wished he could just jump in and cool off. The heat of the gulf coast’s sun beat down on him, turning the very air itself into hazy waves. He considered cursing Reyes out for the fifth time that day, for making him sit outside like some pretty decoration. 

“Hey kid, it’s time we brought in the catch!” Gabe called, leaning out from the captain's cabin. Jesse sat up with a jerk. He didn’t want to be caught slacking off, especially on the second day of his job. Besides, they would be out on the water for another few days at the very least. There was no way he was going to get on his bad side and end up stranded on the open ocean alone. 

“Yes, boss!” He called, saluting. Gabe rolled his eyes at him, turning back into the cabin and shutting the door. Jesse raced to the other side of the boat. He heard the cables begin their endless screech, and got into position to drag the netting over the deck as soon as it broke the surface. Being a fisherman wasn’t near as exciting as Jesse had expected it to be. There had been no storms, no sense of danger to hauling in the dwindling catches of tuna and whatever the hell else they managed to bring in. At least it was slightly above minimum wage. That was, if they brought in a decent catch. 

The first of the fish broke the surface, and began their frenzied dance as they hit the air. Jesse moved the bandana from around his neck to his face, tightening it. If there was one thing he hated getting in his mouth, it was fish water. The net rose higher and higher, the cables screaming. Jesse gave a whoop of excitement. For the first time since Jesse had been hired, they were getting a catch that was more than a couple of beer cans and one or two fish. 

He guided the net over the deck and into the holding tank. He leaned in over the net and unhooked the cables, watching closely for any plastics as the fish spilled into the shallow waters. A massive tail caught his eye, and Jesse gripped the sides of the tank. Shit, did they catch a shark? A pile of fish shifted suspiciously, and Jesse leaned in further. With an explosion of noise, a hissing creature leaped from the tank, snarling. Jesse lunged back, scrabbling away in horror.

“What the absolute fuck,” He swore, tearing his bandana down off of his face. Jesse grabbed the switchblade he carried with him out of his cargo shorts. He gripped the hilt tightly in one fist, and pulled his cross out from under his shirt to kiss it. Whatever the hell just tried to eat his face off was going to meet its maker soon. He got to his feet, and wearily approached the tank. He glanced over the edge.

What he saw was a merman. The creature was twisting around the bodies of fish, hissing in rage, the crest along his back and forearms standing up in harsh contrast to the hued colour of his skin. The merman’s hair masked his face, long and inky black as it was. Jesse swallowed, hard. He moved forward again, kicking the side of the tank on accident. The creature's head snapped up, and the merman snarled at him in warning. 

“Hey kid, what the hell has you so spooked?” Gabe asked, coming up from behind him. Jesse whirled around, forgetting about the switchblade in hand. 

“Watch yourself, put that away before you cut someone. What the hell is wrong with you?” Gabe said, glaring at Jesse. 

“I-uh, there’s some kinda fuckin’ mermaid or some shit,” Jesse said, jabbing a finger at the tank. Gabe sized Jesse up and down for a moment, hands crossed over his chest. 

“I think you got a case of heatstroke, you should go sit inside for a bit,” Gabe said, walking past Jesse and looking into the tank himself. Jesse glared at his boss.

“Well. Would you look at that,” Gabe whistled, reaching up and pulling the beanie off the top of his head. 

“Yeah, wanna make an apology now?” Jesse asked dryly. 

“Hell, we’re gonna be millionaires the second we get ahold of those scales on this bastard. I’ll have to verify his existence, probably going to make a ton of calls…” Gabe trailed off, heading right back to the cabin. Jesse watched him go, a little irritated he had been forgotten. 

Against his better judgement, Jesse glanced over the tank. The merman had settled down now, and was consuming one of the fish they had captured. His eyes flickered up to glare at Jesse, yellow and cat-like in appearance. Jesse raised a hand cautiously and waved down to him. The merman glanced away again, flipped his tail to the other side and shifted so his back was to Jesse. 

“Are ya….ignorin’ me?” Jesse asked incredulously. The merman twitched the end of his tail, the only sign that he heard him. 

“You know what I’m sayin’ dontcha?” Jesse asked, leaning on the tank’s ledge. The merman gave no response. He lifted an arm and tossed the spine of the fish upwards, so that it landed just outside of the tank. He picked up another fish. 

“Hey now, you cant be sittin’ here eatin’ all that. I’m paid extra by the pound,” Jesse added on. The merman purposefully picked up a second fish in his other hand. 

“Lord almighty,” Jesse sighed. He turned away from the tank and headed towards the cabin. True to his word, Gabe was in the middle of a call, swearing up and down that he just wasn’t making this shit up. Jesse stole Gabe’s chair and cracked open a beer, settling in for the long haul. He assumed they wouldn’t be fishing anymore, unless merfolk as a rule had a voracious appetite. 

Gabe slammed his phone on the counter beside Jesse, cursing. 

“They think you got a bit of heatstroke?” Jesse asked lightly. 

“Shut your mouth,” Gabe snapped. He glared outside at the tank, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment. 

“We’ll need photos. Proof that that thing exists,” Gabe said. 

“Hey now boss, you didn’t tell part of the job was photoshoots,” Jesse said. 

“This isn’t a job anymore, whatever we get for it, we’ll be living comfortably for the rest of our lives,” Gabe said. “Stop acting the fool, we need to be smart about this.” 

“Just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do it,” Jesse said, tilting his head back as he finished the rest of his beer. 

The photoshoot was quickly going to hell. Jesse could no longer argue that the thing wasn’t unintelligent, because the damned thing had covered itself in fish and refused to move out from underneath them. 

“C’mon you bastard, don’t make me get in there with you,” Gabe threatened. The creature seemed to laugh from far below, a low keening noise that could be hardly heard over the waves. Jesse sighed, fiddling with the dial on the camera. Looked like the whole endeavor was gonna be a bust. 

“If we used a flare gun, spooked it out from under all the goddamn fish…” Gabe said, turning away from the tank. 

“How bout we give it time? It’s not like we’ll be back in a week, and he’s not goin’ anywhere,” Jesse said. He couldn’t see anything good coming from coercing the merman into doing anything. 

“Yeah, and by then all my connections will be labelling me as insane,” Gabe said. He stalked past Jesse and slammed the cabin door. Jesse watched him go, nonplussed. He turned back to the tank and watched the creature for a couple of minutes. 

“Tell ya what, I won't take any photos so you can get out from all that stinking fish,” Jesse suggested. The mound hardly moved. He set the camera on the ledge, making sure it clanked on the smooth surface.

“Look, I’m settin’ the camera right on the ledge. I won't touch it even if you do a backflip,” Jesse said. There was a prolonged pause, and slowly the creature shifted out from underneath the mounds of fish. Jesse raised his hand in greeting. 

“Good to see ya, how’s my paycheck feedin’ ya?” Jesse asked. The merman lifted a fishbone from the water and pointedly began to clean his teeth, glaring at Jesse all the while. 

“Listen, I don’t wanna get too attached or anythin’ but you’re lookin’ pretty depressed,” Jesse said. The creature snorted, turning his gaze away from Jesse and focusing once more on the opposing wall.

“Is there someone you’re missin’?” Jesse guessed. No response came from him. Jesse stroked his beard thoughtfully. He figured the thing didn’t want them fishing for anymore of his kind. He knew he’d be doing the same thing, given the situation. 

“I won’t be tellin’ the captain, if that’s what you’re concerned about. Honestly, I’m just in it for the pay,” Jesse said. Again, Jesse received no response from him. 

“Well, I ain’t goin’ nowhere, so we’ll be gettin’ to know each other real well,” Jesse drawled. If this thing thought he was more stubborn than Jesse McCree, he had another thing coming. 

He almost missed it, the sound of the merman singing. It was a low keening noise, lovely to hear. Full of heartbreak. Jesse kept quiet, listening closely. He wondered if his merfolk could hear him beneath the ocean, hearing his goodbyes to them. He pictured little merkids, the size of his arm clinging to seaweed as they searched for their father that had gone hunting the day before. Never to return.

Jesse sighed. He didn’t need to be getting a conscience now, he had to be focusing on the job.

“I don't think it’ll hurt much,” Jesse said at last. The singing ceased entirely. 

“I mean, I’ve never been poached myself, but I’m certain they’ll be ethical about it and all,” he continued. Jesse wondered if Gabe would give him the honor of killing the merman. He knew that he would try to make quick work of it, at the very least. There was a nobility to the creature, the kind that invoked a sense of respect. Whichever way the creature was going to meet his end, Jesse just hoped it would be merciful.  

“This doesn’t make for much conversation, does it?” Jesse said. He leaned against the railing, accidentally pushing the camera into the tank. 

“Shit,” Jesse said. 

Hanzo took great care in shredding the camera to pieces. And, to drive the insult home, he chucked every single piece out of the tank and in Jesse’s general direction. 

“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know what?” Jesse called down. The merman grinned maliciously up at him, all teeth and burning hatred. 

“Jesse, what the fuck,” Gabe called. Jesse flipped the merman off, turning back to Gabe. 

“The damned thing leaped and snatched it from my hands,” Jesse said. 

  
  


The quarter moon hung low in the heavens as Jesse crept out onto the deck. He left behind the loud snores of Gabe, who had crashed after his tenth beer. Jesse lit his cigarette and leaned against the railing of the boat. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was sleeping tonight. There was something that kept tugging at his heart, reminding him of his morals. He carelessly tossed the cigarette into the ocean and wandered over to the tank. 

The merman flopped down into the water immediately, hissing his frustration at the sight of Jesse. Jesse just waved haughtily down at him. The merman turned his back to him once more, lashing his tail from side to side. 

“I’m figurin’ you tried to claw yourself out?” Jesse said. The creature thrummed in reply, and Jesse took that as a yes. 

“I’m tellin’ ya, there’s nothin’ good at the end of this boat ride. They’re gonna kill ya and make sure not a drop of blood is wasted,” Jesse said. He rested his chin in his hand, gazing at the stars that floated iridescent above the pitch black of the railing. There was no reply from below. 

“I’d free ya, but I think Gabe would kill me,” Jesse confessed. He pulled the cross out from under his shirt, palming it in his hand until it glowed a soft shade of silver in the moonlight. Jesse closed his hand around the crucifix, tucking it under his shirt. Damn it. 

“Listen here, you attack me and you’re finished,” Jesse warned, swinging one leg over the railing. He wondered what on earth had gotten into him. He swung the other leg over. He paused, heart in his throat. But before he could back out, the creature lunged, wrapping one webbed hand around Jesse’s boot and yanking him into the tank with him. 

He hit the water hard. The creature was on him in a second, spitting and hissing as it pinned Jesse’s arms above his head. Jesse twisted helplessly, fighting to get his head above the water. 

“You think you can threaten me? I will kill you, and be glad of it,” A voice hissed, and Jesse opened his eyes, startled. He gazed up at the merman, eyes full of righteous fury. Jesse opened his mouth to reply, and convulsed as his body screamed for air. The creature narrowed his eyes, and disappeared from the gloom. Jesse felt himself yanked upwards, and began choking the second he hit air. The creature dug his claws into Jesse’s wrists, holding him upwards as Jesse fought to catch his breath. 

“Fuck you,” He managed, before the merman pushed him under once more. 

Jesse’s vision began to go black before the merman let him up again. Jesse felt the wall of the tank on the back of his head, and he closed his eyes. For awhile all he could do was struggle to keep consciousness. At last he opened his eyes, to see the merman glaring at him.

“Shit, you fish-faced bastard, that’s not how you welcome your savior,” Jesse gasped. The merman lifted him with ease, and thrust him back under the water. 

“My name is Hanzo, you split-tailed scum of the waters,” Hanzo snarled. Jesse glared at him, refusing to be impressed by the glimmer of luminescent light that pulsed down Hanzo’s body. He guessed that was a threat, too. Jesse raised an eyebrow, flicking his eyes from Hanzo to the surface. Hanzo scowled, and lifted him once more. 

“Nice to meet ya, Hanzo. I’m afraid to tell ya this but since you tossed me in here with ya, I can’t get out either,” Jesse said flatly. Hanzo snarled impatiently, letting go of Jesse in order to move to the other side of the tank. Jesse pushed the hair out of his eyes, watching Hanzo wearily. 

Well, that settled one thing. There was no way in hell he was going to let Gabe butcher this creature for a couple of million bucks. Even if he had called him a split-tailed something of the ocean or whatever. 

They eyed each other from across the way for a few hours. Jesse was continuously shoving away the carcasses of the fish, skin crawling. The moon slowly ebbed its way to hover directly above their heads. Jesse lifted his head, watching the sallow-cheeked merman tear at a fish absently. He looked positively ghoulish in the light, something from another world entirely. Jesse shifted, rising to his feet slowly, as not to startle Hanzo. 

“I think I got an idea of sorts, but you gotta rough me up a little,” Jesse said, eyeing the edge of the tank. He just hoped that Gabe wasn’t too deeply asleep. Hanzo gestured to the water. 

“Goddamn your method of communication,” Jesse grumbled, plopping back down in the tank and lowering his head under the water. 

Hanzo was a little too pleased with the plan, all things considered. Jesse took position on the side of the tank that was nearest to the cabin. Jesse made a quick prayer before nodding his assent to Hanzo. The crests on Hanzo lifted, and with a snarl, the merman lunged, tackling Jesse to the ground. Jesse yelled in mock horror.

Hanzo reared back, one arm raised high in the air before he slashed downwards, opening Jesse’s face from cheek to nose. Jesse screamed in agony, twisting away from Hanzo on instinct. He felt a tug around his neck, and noticed the telltale sign of a chain dangling from Hanzo’s closed fist. Hanzo grinned menacingly, feral and full of death as he used his other hand to claw Jesse’s chest arender. Jesse bucked, trying to throw Hanzo off from under him. This wasn’t a part of the plan, the damn thing was gonna kill him-

“Jesse! Fuck, christ, get back you demon!” Gabe shouted. There was a blast from a gun, and the tank flared a brilliant red as Gabe fired a flare gun into the tank. Hanzo reared away, hissing in outrage. Jesse heard a rope splash into the water, and he struggled to get to his knees. The tank was awash in black blood and floating fish. He stumbled forward, gripping onto the rope. He felt the rope tighten, and little by little Gabe hauled him out of the tank. It took all he had to cling on, to not let go. 

At last, Gabe pulled him over the edge of the tank, pulling Jesse into his arms. Jesse threw the rope over the edge and into the tank, as was part of the deal. 

“C’mon, let’s get you inside. Shit, that thing is dangerous,” Gabe said, pulling him towards the cabin. Jesse glanced back at the edge of the tank, at the rope that was tied against the far railing. Thank god. He would get out.


	2. Chapter 2

Tracer lingered underneath the docks, sifting around the sand for any telltale signs of prey to scrounge up. She took care to stay away from the fisherman hooks, although she couldn’t help but tug on a few. It was so funny how fast they zipped up, only to be thrown in a few seconds later. She figured that today was going to be fruitless; the fish had learned her presence by now, knew how to hide from her just right. 

There was only one thing to do. And that was to mess with the tourists above the water. Her head whipped around at the sound of a human plunging into the water, followed by the gangly thing flailing. Tracer dove to hide behind the nearest beam, peeking around to watch as the human buoyed upwards. She waited for a moment, watching the human tread water before racing forward. She reached out and grabbed onto the ankle of the human, and plunged into the deeps. She let out a shrill shriek of joy as the person flailed. She let go as the reached the ocean floor, and twisted, watching the human struggle to reach the surface. 

Tracer followed almost lazily. Just as they nearly broke the surface, Tracer grabbed ahold of their ankle and dove back downwards. She played the game until more and more humans leaped into the water, searching for their fellow creature. By then the lovely woman had ceased to fight, a drifting body in the current. Tracer spun the human around lazily, wondering who had fallen victim to her whims this time.

Tracer studied the splay of freckles that splayed across the woman’s nose and cheeks, the cloud of copper hair that framed her face. She brushed the back of her hand against the woman’s face, a strange sensation in her chest. She drew the woman close to her chest, and swam for the docks. She bypassed the probing humans with ease, moving quickly in the murky waters. She was thankful that the sun had begun to set, or else she hadn’t the faintest idea how she was going to save this human girl. 

She found a rocky outcropping in which she tossed the girl on top of. She pulled herself out of the water, looking around wearily for any probing eyes. Thankfully, all eyes were focused on the docks. She turned the girl onto her back and placed her hands over the middle of her chest. She began to pump. For half a minute nothing appeared to be happening, and then another half minute passed by. Tracer was about to give up hope when the girl sat up with a rush, vomiting water all over the rocks. She awkwardly patted the girl's back, keeping watch all the while. The humans had begun using their flashlights, shouting to one another distantly. She supposed they’d start searching the water in those big boats of theirs. She’d want to be out of the way before that. 

“What are you?” The girl gasped, wiping her mouth. Tracer tilted her head at the girl, wondering if it would be rude to dunk her again just so they could properly communicate. Instead, she chirped, flipping her tail from side to side pointedly. 

“Did I die? Oh shit, that would just be my luck,” The girl laughed, pushing the limp hair out of her eyes. Tracer tilted her head to the other side politely. She hadn’t really kept any human alive long enough to hear much else than screaming. The girl hugged her torso, shivering as she looked around the outcropping. 

“Okay, so, you’re definitely a hallucination,” The girl decided, squinting at Tracer in the dim light. Tracer started, remembering that humans didn’t have the same kind of eyesight mermaids had. So maybe this girl just thought she was something from another world.

“Are they searching for me?” The girl asked faintly, shifting on the rock in order to look around Tracer. Tracer reached out and touched the girl’s hip, to keep her steady. She jumped, pulling away from Tracer’s touch. 

“Shit, fuck, you’re cold,” The girl gasped, scrambling away from Tracer. Tracer shrugged. In her opinion, she was perfectly warm. But if this human was going to go off and insult her body temperature, than she could just fall off the rock and hit her head on the way down. It didn’t affect her either way. 

Tracer picked at her scales absently while the girl got to her feet. She did a lot of shouting and waving of her arms, but to no avail. Tracer listened as she sat down with a frustrated scream. She figured the girl knew that the only way she was going to get back safely was through Tracer, but that also meant asking for her help. At last the girl began to cry, and Tracer reached out, keening low in her throat. 

“Why’d you do it?” The girl sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. Tracer ducked her head. She didn’t know what to say. Because it was fun, because it was easy to do. No one would be able to stop her. The girl slowly began to settle down, her sobs settling into sniffles as the search parties became more hectic across the way. 

“It doesn’t matter. Take me home now,” The girl demanded, wiping her nose. She turned to Tracer, expectantly. Tracer lunged at the girl and sent her sailing backwards over the rock, diving into the dark waters below. The girl clung onto Tracer, wrapping her legs around her torso as Tracer swam through the water. 

“I’m sorry love, I should’ve left you be,” Tracer said. She knew that wasn’t true. She would be doing it again, in the indefinite future. It was a part of her nature. Tracer took great  care to stay out of the way of the searchlights probing the water. She ignored the girl pulling at her hair, probably asking for them to surface so she could get a lungful of air. Humans were so weak. 

Tracer reached the edge of the docks, and pulled the girl gently away from her. She pointed to the heavens patiently, tail lashing. The girl nodded silently, swimming upwards, legs kicking until she broke the surface. Tracer disappeared, towards the open ocean and her family. 

Genji greeted her before she could quite get to the center of the territory. The merman was absolutely frantic, his crest standing straight up on end. Tracer sang a greeting, moving to circle around him. 

“Have you seen my brother?” Genji asked, twisting so he was swimming concurrent to Tracer. 

“No, I’ve been out trying to hunt by the docks. I think it’s a dead hunting ground by now,” Tracer said, breaking away to head further in. Genji flashed ahead of her, rounding in on her. Tracer reared back, hissing a warning. 

“He hasn’t been back all day, he was only supposed to be gone for a few hours,” Genji said. 

“Have you told Zarya? Maybe he got sidetracked,” Tracer suggested. She had no interest in the mermen that lived on the outskirts of their pod, outside of the protection they gave them. Genji was too full of himself, and Hanzo was always in a foul mood. In Tracer’s opinion, they would be better off without the two brothers constantly trying to show off in their sparring matches. Besides, their matriarch Zarya could definitely handle any sort of danger that came their way. 

“No, I haven’t. She’s been avoiding me,” Genji huffed. Tracer moved past him once more, this time he didn’t move to block her way. She kept going for several yards, before her conscience got the better of her.

“Come on, I’ll get you in with the Matriarch,” She said, and the merman was beside her in a flash. She rolled her eyes. Hanzo had probably just gone off preening on some rocks and had been too slow getting back. They passed by Widowmaker’s lair, a dense outcropping of rock that screamed a sense of dread. Tracer wished she had a cool lair like that. Instead she slept in a bed of seaweed. 

They found Zarya threading pearls into Mei’s hair. The massive mermaid was crooning softly to her mate, her scarred futures having taken on a softer quality. The shark teeth buried deep into her skin looked almost out of place, the harshness of Zarya’s body having no place here with Mei. Tracer chirped a greeting, keeping her head low. The matriarch lifted her head, spotting the two of them.

“You may speak,” She said at last, resuming her task. Tracer swallowed hard, hesitating just long enough that Genji cut her to the chase.

“Hanzo’s been gone for far too long, he’s not the kind to wander like this,” Genji said. Zarya released her hands from Mei’s hair and drifted over to Genji. Tracer backed away automatically. Zarya hardly seemed to notice, her attention trained on the merman. Genji puffed out his chest, eyes narrowed. Zarya tilted her head to the side, studying Genji for a long moment before turning away once more. 

“If he doesn’t return by tomorrow morning, I will search with you,” She said at last, before floating back over to Mei. Mei reached up to cup her mate’s cheek. Genji jerked his head up and down shakily out of the corner of Tracer’s eye. She suspected his heart was going a mile a minute, after standing up to Zarya’s glare like that. 

“Thank you, matriarch,” He said, lowering his head respectfully. He twisted away and swam off, probably to spend a sleepless night swimming circles around the perimeter of their domain. 

“And what is it that you have to tell me, Tracer?” Zarya asked. 

“Oh, yes, I was out by the docks and uhm,” Tracer ran a hand through her hair, feeling antsy. “I don’t think it’ll be a good place to hunt for us anymore, I couldn’t find anything.” 

“That means we’ll have to be searching further in the depths for food,” Mei put in, sitting up. The stout mermaid rested a hand on Zarya’s arm, a look of worry on her face. Zarya studied Mei’s face, turned back to Tracer.

“After we track down Hanzo, I’ll just have to find a new location for us to feed. It’s not unusual this time of year anyway,” She said. 

“Right! I can help find a new hunting ground if you’d like,” Tracer said, swishing her tail. The prospect practically made her skin crawl with excitement; she still wasn’t quite over her travelling phase. In fact, she still tended to get lost, and it usually took Widowmaker to find her.

“That would be lovely, Tracer,” Zarya said. Tracer bowed her head respectfully before zipping off after wherever Genji had gone. 

She tracked the merman for a few minutes, just to give herself something to do. Just as she was about to catch up to him, her mind began to stray, and she found herself heading back towards the docks. Tracer wasn’t sure what was there that she was looking for, it wasn’t the best idea to linger after an attempted drowning. Not that the humans really looked. They usually thought it was a shark or something. 

She played with the idea of staying around until that pretty girl showed up again. But that was foolhardy; the human would probably never enter the water again. Tracer turned away from the docks, and returned home, banishing the girl from her thoughts. 

 

Tracer sneezed herself awake, the culprit being Widowmaker. The mermaid cast aside the piece of seaweed she was using to tickle Tracer’s nose.

“You slept in late, Zarya and Genji are gone,” The mermaid said flatly, running an old comb through her long black hair. Tracer made a face at Widowmaker.

“I didn’t wanna go with them anyhow love,” She said stubbornly. She snatched the comb from Widowmaker’s fingers, and zipped away laughing. The mermaid gave chase, hissing her fury. Tracer outmaneuvered Widowmaker at every turn, until she gave up, screaming her irritation.

“Oh, la de da, I’m a beautiful mermaid from France,” Tracer sang, grinning widely as she yanked the comb dramatically through her hair. Widowmaker snarled in rage, and this time Tracer fled for her life. 

Widowmaker finally caught her at the outskirts of her lair. Tracer twisted helplessly in Widowmaker’s grasp, laughing all the while as the far stronger mermaid pinned her among the sand. 

“You’re just a little merchild,” Widowmaker huffed, working the comb from Tracer’s hand. She swam a few yards away, and returned to brushing her hair. 

“Aww, Amelie, you know I’m just playing,” Tracer said, swimming after her friend.

“Don’t call me that, you know I don’t go by that any longer,” Widowmaker said vainly, working a knot out. 

“Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting,” Tracer settled down beside the other mermaid, and traced her finger through the sand. 

“It’s alright, ma cherie,” Widowmaker said. Tracer scrunched her nose up at the familiar old term of endearment. They had been friends for years, having banded together when Tracer fled the english channel on her quest to explore the world. It was hard to think of a time when they weren’t together. 

“Hey Widow,” Tracer began, drawing the girl from the other day in the sand. 

“Yes?” Widowmaker asked, humming softly. 

“Have you ever seen a human that was...you know...someone you fancied?” Tracer asked carefully.

“I’ve never seen a human that I liked while they were alive, no,” Widowmaker replied. 

“But what if I did?” Tracer asked, turning to her friend. 

“Then you should stay away from them,” Widowmaker snapped, whisking away from Tracer. She swam a couple of yards, settled down once more. After a moment, Tracer gave pursuit. 

“But I have a real feeling this girl is different, yaknow?” Tracer insisted, grabbing her friend’s shoulder. Widowmaker twisted away, glaring at Tracer. 

“Haven’t you listened to a word Zarya has said to you about humans?” Widowmaker scolded. 

“Her face is horribly scarred, because a human tried to skewer her with a hook! They can't be trusted,” Widowmaker said. 

“Yeah but that was years ago! And the hooks are too small anyway for me to be caught on them,” Tracer said. A strange look passed over Widowmaker’s face, and her look turned cold.

“You’re a fool, Tracer. Do you think Hanzo just got up and wandered away? That Zarya would bother herself over finding him if he was off sunbathing late?” Widowmaker asked. Tracer bit her lip. 

“Genji always spends too long sunbathing,” Tracer pointed out meekly. 

“They think he’s been killed by a human, ma cherie, and if he has we have to flee immediately,” Widowmaker said. 

“Hanzo wouldn’t die, he’d gut anything that tried,” Tracer snapped. She ignored the fear in her heart. It was just stupid old Widowmaker trying to scare her for no good reason. 

“He might gut them first, but there’s always another one, and another. And they don’t stop til you’re dead,” Widowmaker snarled. 

“You’re heartless,” Tracer burst out, and swam past Widowmaker. She raced blindly through the water, ignoring whatever she was shouting after her. There was no way that Hanzo was dead, Zarya was just being a good matriarch. 

Tracer found herself at the docks once more. She paced underneath the water, yanking savagely on the lines as she went. Tracer was no fool, no matter what Widowmaker called her. It was just...it was just hard to think that someone like that girl would kill Hanzo. She was such a soft, harmless thing. Tracer shook her head. She hated it when things weighed on her consciousness. It wasn’t like she had killed her, after all. 

Tracer decided she was going to set things right. It just all depended upon the fact that the girl would be there again, and late at night too. Tracer set to work, scraping a few of her scales off of her tail and cupping them in her hand. She spent her time keeping out of the way of humans leaping into the water, watching for the familiar shock of red hair. 

The sun turned the waters into a brilliant shade of copper before Tracer knew it, and just as the shadows overtook the ocean, she poked her head above the water. Tracer jumped a little when she saw the silhouette of a human on the edge of the docks. The human jumped too, giving a little shriek. 

“It’s you!” The girl hissed after a moment. Tracer blinked, tilting her head to the side. The girl had scrambled away from the edge, so that Tracer couldn’t see her face. The girl poked her head over the edge, and tracer chirped happily. 

“What’re you doing here? Trying to drown more people?” The girl hissed. Tracer shook her head, dipping underneath the water. She swam a couple hundred feet, and turned around. She raced for the dock, and catapulted out of the water to land on the dock beside the girl. 

“Bloody hell, you’re insane!” The girl screamed, covering her face from the spray of water. Tracer shrugged, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She grinned toothily at the girl, holding out her closed fist to her. 

“Uhm, well, you have a ton of teeth,” The girl said faintly, looking from Tracer to her her outstretched hand. Tracer waited a moment, but the girl didn’t seem to get the gist of what she was trying to do. Impatiently, Tracer grabbed the girls hand and dropped the set of orange scales into the girls hand, before letting go. 

“Oh, oh my god,” The girl whispered, shifting the scales in her hand. Tracer thrummed happily, pleased. 

“Is this some sort of apology?” The girl asked hesitantly. Tracer bobbed her head up and down. 

“Well, they sure are beautiful,” She said softly, putting them in her pocket. Tracer watched her adoringly.

“I guess you should know my name, you did kinda almost drown me after all,” The girl laughed lightly. “Its Emily, a pleasure to meet you,” She held her hand out primly. Tracer stared at it, confused. 

Well, if she insisted.

Tracer grabbed the girls hand and yanked her into the water with her. 

“My name’s Tracer, also why did you want me to drag you back in?” Tracer asked politely. Emily shoved Tracer away, surfacing. 

“Oh my god, I was being friendly!” Emily shouted, sputtering water out of her mouth. Tracer rubbed the back of her head, feeling embarrassed. 

“You don’t know how anything works, do you?” Emily asked, studying Tracer’s face. Tracer shook her head politely. She didn’t know what she was doing wrong but if Emily was going to teach her the proper way, that was fine by her.

“Eugh, how’d I end up tutoring a mermaid about etiquette on vacation?” Emily asked herself. Tracer shrugged. She didn’t know how she had this pretty human talking to her but she didn’t want it to stop. 

“Just, don’t throw me in the water willy nilly okay? Human’s don't like that. It’s kinda like a cat,” Emily said.

Tracer figured it was a bad time to ask what, exactly, was a cat. 

She opened her mouth, about the chirp something when she heard Zarya’s far off call. Tracer whipped her head to the side, distracted. It didn’t seem urgent…

“Is there something the matter?” Emily asked from behind her. Tracer nodded absently, listening closely to the song. She heard Mei join in, and then Genji. Shit. It was probably about Hanzo. 

Tracer lifted her hand in farewell to Emily, before diving back into the water. She felt terrible leaving Emily behind, they were just getting off to the right start. But if Widowmaker was right, the pod probably wouldn’t be waiting long enough for Tracer to get there in time. 

She could sense the tension in the water before she got there. Something bad must of happened. Silently she cursed Widowmaker for making her assume the worse, and made herself swim faster. 

Tracer slowed down the second she saw the bioluminescent markings of Hanzo in the water. Relief flooded her. At least he wasn’t dead. She joined the rest of her pod, who were all surrounding the merman. Widowmaker pulled on Tracer’s hair in greeting, and Mei rested a hand on Tracer’s shoulder lightly. They had been waiting for her. 

“Speak, about the human.” Zarya said.

“As I told my brother, I was captured by two men. The first wore a red cloth around his mouth, when he hauled me in, only to keep it around his neck the rest of the time. He kept his greatest treasure against his chest, which I stole when I tricked him into freeing me,” Hanzo said, and lifted a golden necklace high. Tracer leaned forward, staring in awe of the cross floating emptily in the water. 

“Do you know where they captured you?” Zarya asked. 

“Yes, and while it is one of our better hunting spots, it would be best if we stayed far away for the near future. I gave the man grievous wounds to think about, but there’s no telling with humans,” Hanzo said, crests flaring on his spine. Tracer rolled her eyes. Of course he would be proud of barely escaping with his life. 

“It is good to see you in one piece, Hanzo. We should all learn a lesson that we can never allow our guard down, no matter the circumstances,” Zarya said, turning her attention to the rest of the pod. Tracer edged away from the group, figuring that was the end of it.

“Tracer,” Zarya called. Tracer turned around. 

“Stay away from the docks from now on,” She said, before swimming away with Mei. Tracer made a face at Zarya’s back. 

There was no way she was never going to see Emily again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, Tracer is quite the stubborn mermaid! Anyway, here's chapter two, I hope you enjoyed reading it! :) 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, and your comments mean the world to me!


	3. Chapter 3

Genji lunged after the tuna, chasing the silvery mass through the water. He hated it whenever he was put on hunting duty. For one, it always ruined his hair. He grasped the tail of a fish, and yanking it back ripped his teeth into it’s skull. For another, it was such dirty business. Genji spat out the head of the fish in disgust, and tied the end of the fish to the belt of seaweed he kept fastened around himself. He watched the shoal disappear into the vast blue waters. Three fish was enough for him and Hanzo, but everyone had been having trouble finding anything lately.

He really, really missed the days when all he had to worry about was his brother. 

Genji took off in pursuit of the fish once more. He never saw the six plastic rings until they smacked him in the face, and he reared away, spitting righteous fury. He lashed out blindly, hooking the plastic around his fingers. Genji focused on the rings, feeling embarrassed for overreacting. He held it up to the sun, squinting at it. It was tinted blue for some reason, which Genji decided was the reason as to why he didn’t see it in the first place. After a moment, he folded the rings over and over until they were stacked six thick, and forced his fist through the middle. 

He shook his arm around to get a feeling for the newfound bracelet. The plastic was snug against his skin, but otherwise it fit just fine. He continued his chase after the fish for awhile, pleased with his accessory. It wasn’t several pearls to add to his necklace, but it would have to do.

Genji ignored the throbbing in his hand as he captured another tuna, staining the waters red as he tore into it. He spat blood out of his mouth as he fastened the tuna to his belt absently. Maybe the blue bracelet was a tad too tacky. Genji absently ran a hand through his hair, warring with the idea that he was about to make a fool of himself. He was always trying to keep himself at his most beautiful, which required hours of preening. It was part of being a merman, it was the only way to get a mermaids attention. Maybe he could ask Hanzo about it. 

Genji moved to pull the plastic off, but it stayed firm. He used his teeth, and when that failed, flung his arm up and down really fast to no result. Frustrated, he crossed his arms over his chest in a fit of rage. 

Struck with a solution, he dove for the ocean floor, and searched the ground closely for any sharp rocks that he could use. There was nothing to be used though, and Genji passed up a rather promising group of clams. He looked around wildly, spotting a small fishing boat in the distance. Genji ignored whatever warnings Hanzo had drilled into him over the past few days and dove for the ship. 

Genji built up enough speed that he just catapulted onto the edge of the boat, no warning whatsoever. He figured he could kill whatever humans were there, and use their hook as a knife. 

Instead, he came face to face to two screaming human girls. He hissed at them, figuring he could play up the scary merman look. They scrambled backwards, over their gear. They huddled behind the captain’s chair, watching him wide-eyed. Genji leaned forward and fell into the boat, and began rifling through their things. Every now and then he remembered to look up and snarl at them, even though they had made no move in the first place to attack him. 

“What the fuck do we do Satya?” The blond hissed to the other. 

“I don't know, I really didn’t think mermaids still existed until one jumped in our boat!” Satya hissed back. Genji whipped his head up, stared at the two of them. Humans knew that mermaids existed? 

“Oh god can it understand us?” Satya whispered. Genji snorted, rolling his eyes. The blonde signed to Satya with her hands, and Satya signed back in a different way. Genji watched the two of them curiously, forgetting his initial mission. This wasn’t something Hanzo had mentioned, and he figured he could learn as much as he could and inform Zarya later on. The two girls turned to look at him as one, and cautiously the blonde rose to her feet, stepping forward. Genji scowled up at her, baring his teeth in warning. She hesitated, before squatting a yard away from him.

“My name is Angela, and that’s Satya. We’re marine biologists, studying the last migrations of tuna,” Angela said, resting her elbows on her knees. Genji watched her wearily for a moment before he pulled himself further away, to the boxes lining the wall of the ship. He flipped a lid open, spotting three tuna in a small tank of water. He thrust his hand in and pulled one out, ripping its head off before adding it to the fish on his belt. Stupid humans, they didn’t know how to do anything right. 

“Uhm, I guess that’s okay, kinda needed those for our study but like, if that’s what you do,” Angela rambled. Genji killed the other two fish, ignoring the look on Angela’s face. Genji returned his attention to the plastic on his arm, before studying Angela for a long moment. The human looked at him wearily, having fallen silent. Slowly, he held his arm up, wrist skywards as he looked from her to the plastic meaningfully. 

“Oh! Of course,” Angela said, hopping up. Genji hummed, pleased that this human knew what he wanted. She walked over and kneeled beside him, pulling a switchblade out of her back pocket. Angela took hold of his hand, her eyes downcast as she shimmied the blade between his skin and the plastic. Genji bit his lower lip, watching her concentrate. He ignored Satya in the background, who had moved from behind the chair to sit on it. The plastic fell to the ground, and before Angela could pull away, he grabbed her arm with his other hand, tightening his grip until she let go of his wrist. He pushed one of the tuna he had caught in the ocean into her hand, before letting go. 

“Thank you?” Angela said. Genji grinned at her, squinting his eyes happily. She stood up shakily and moved back to Satya, setting the fish down in Satya’s lap so she could sign to her. Genji lifted his hands and imitated the movements, finding the shapes they made unnatural due to the webbing on his hands. Satya broke off whatever she was saying to Angela, having caught onto what Genji was trying to do. 

“Well, even if he’s non-verbal, I can certainly teach him how to speak to us,” Satya said, sliding off the chair to face Genji. Genji pulled himself closer, until they were a foot apart. The pretty girl took a deep breath, and made a simple sign.

“Hello,” She said, along with the sign. Genji imitated the movement, hissing in response. Satya smiled brightly, and Genji grinned right on back. Whatever game they were playing, it made Satya happy. 

They ran through several phrases together, until Satya sat back, satisfied.

“Okay, sign to Angela,” She encouraged. Genji nodded, and turned to the blonde. 

‘Hello, how are you?’ he signed, hesitating over several of the movements. 

‘I’m fine, and you?’ Angela signed back. Genji thrashed his tail from side to side, pleased. He couldn’t wait until he could show the rest of the pod what he had learned. Maybe then if another human captured them, there would be a common language. 

“We really don’t have enough time to teach him all the possible answers to what I want to ask, I wonder if yeses and no’s would be enough,” Satya sighed. Genji squinted at her, wondering if he should keep playing this game.

‘Yes or no?’ he signed. 

“Holy shit, Satya, did you see that?” Angela yelled, punching her friend in the shoulder. Genji jumped. He wondered if they were going to start fighting, but based on their excited screaming, they were just bonding over...him knowing English as much as they did? He wondered if there was a sign for Japanese too. Genji turned away from them to pick a paper from his tail, realizing he probably looked quite the mess to them. He suddenly wished he had brought along his pearl necklace, but he always left it in Hanzo’s care when he went hunting. There was no way he was going to let it get torn. 

“Okay okay okay, excuse me, do all mermaids have green hair? Or is that unique to mermen?” Angela asked, pulling Genji’s attention back to them. 

‘No, me only,’ Genji signed. He hesitated, thinking about Zarya. ‘One more’

“Okay so...there’s two of you who have green hair,” Satya said thoughtfully. Genji signed no again, before spotting a shade of pink on Angela’s shoe. He pointed to the color. 

“Pink? That’s interesting, I suppose it’s to attract mates,” Angela said, grabbing a notebook from the floor that Genji must’ve thrown in his explorations. She began writing in the notebook furiously, and Genji watched her. Humans were...interesting to say the least. 

“Are you guys nomadic?” Satya asked. 

‘No,’ Genji signed, distracted. He reached up and took the pen from Angela, and bit the hard plastic experimentally. He pressed one end of the pen on his skin and dragged downwards, startling himself when he left a blue streak on his skin. He thrust the pen back to Angela, and began to scrub the spot. He began to panic when the stuff didn’t come off, and he screeched. 

“Oh my god Angela, why’d you let him have it?” Satya burst out, jumping up. Genji rolled away from her, scratching furiously at his arm. He knocked over a box of supplies, a net spilled over him and he began to thrash all over in earnest.

“It’s not permanent! Please stop--we find the one mermaid in the world and he’s gonna kill himself over a pen,” Angela cried, following Genji around the boat as he entangled himself into the net further.

Genji eventually settled down, but not before he had restricted himself into the net so thoroughly that he could hardly move. He hissed helplessly, hoping that the blonde would be willing to cut him free again.

“Are you...you know, finished freaking out?” Angela asked. Genji chirped his response, rolling on his side to face them. Through the netting, he could see that Satya had a knife at the ready, and Angela had hers as well. He shut his eyes tight, hoped that these girls weren’t like the mermaids he knew. 

Slowly they cut him free, taking great care as not to cut him on accident. He tried his best to sit still, until at last he was able to sit up and rip the rest of the net off of him. 

‘Thank you,’ he signed, feeling a flush creep up his neck. It wasn’t everyday that Genji felt humility, but it also wasn’t everyday he let two human girls trap him on their boat. Not that he had tried to leave in the first place, or that they had tried to make him stay either. 

“Can we ask more questions?” Satya asked. Genji nodded politely in return. It was the least he owed them after trashing their boat.

They quizzed him on everything from scale patterns to mating habits. Satya picked up on the note taking while Angela asked the questions. Genji tried to answer everything as truthfully as he could, depending on how close they got to the truth. Sometimes he simply had to shrug his shoulders, something he found to be the best way to avoid answering their nosy questions. Besides, some of them were just plain  _ weird.  _ How was he supposed to know what lactation in mermaids was? Most merpeople just laid their eggs and left them to fend for themselves, it wasn’t their business if their children survived or not.

Eventually there was a lull in the conversation, and Genji glanced over the far side of the boat, noting that the sun was sinking into the water. He would need to leave soon, especially if he wanted to avoid worrying Hanzo. 

“Just one more question, if you would,” Angela said, and Genji huffed. Hanzo never said humans were this nosy. Well, he said that the man he slaughtered was, but he was dead so it didn’t even matter. 

“There’s this man, that was attacked by what he claimed to be a mermaid in this area. Did you, or any of your fellow mercreatures do it?” Angela asked. Genji blinked. 

Well, shit. Hanzo really sucked at killing people. 

‘Yes, my brother did it,’ Genji signed. 

“Oh, his wounds are quite bad, everyone thinks a shark or something did it. Maybe we could go and see him Satya, tell him he’s not crazy,” Angela said, turning back to Satya. 

“If you think that’s a good idea. I know that they were going to kill the mermaid, so it might be bad to show up with proof that there’s a second one,” Satya said thoughtfully. 

“What do you think?” Angela asked, turning back to Genji. Genji tilted his head to the side, thinking. If the man found out, there was a possibility that he would want to get his revenge on Hanzo. But then again, he didn’t think this human would be wanting to go against Hanzo again. He knew his brother and how he fought, most things didn’t get away without losing a part of themselves.

‘If like you, yes,’ Genji signed at last. He could trust Angela and Satya to use their better judgement. If not, well, Zarya was thinking about leaving the area anyways. 

“Thank you, uhm, Green,” Angela said politely. Genji wrinkled his nose at the nickname.

“Hey, it's the best I can do until you can figure out a way to tell me your name,” She said, laughing at his expression. Genji startled, surprised to hear a human laugh. He chirped at her, wanting her to do it again, but she only smiled at him politely. 

“Will we be seeing you tomorrow, Mr. Green?” Satya asked, stretching out on the captain’s chair. 

“If we find this Jesse person, he might want to come along too. Do you think your brother would be willing to meet him again?” Angela added on.

Genji thought that Hanzo would love to finish the job of killing Jesse. But he wasn’t about to say that to them. Plus, maybe it would be good for his brother to work on being nice to people. He spent too long hanging out with Widowmaker, and he was pretty sure they both fueled each other’s hatred for everything and anything that wasn’t a merperson. 

‘Yes, and yes,’ Genji signed. He just hoped that he could talk Hanzo into actually showing up. He hoisted himself onto the railing of the boat as gracefully as he could manage, pausing long enough to wave farewell to the two girls before he plunged back into the waters. 

Genji caught the faint glimmer of his brother’s bioluminescence in the gloom, and he raced to meet up with Hanzo before he could reach the boat. He didn’t need to witness a murder. Especially Angela’s and Satya’s. 

“Brother! Where have you been?” Hanzo shouted, drawing near. Genji lifted the belt around his torso, the five fish as proof for where he had been. 

“Hmmph, is that all?” Hanzo asked, frowning at Genji.

“Hey, I’ve had a very busy day,” Genji responded, brushing past his brother. Hanzo fell into side beside him. 

“Oh, and what were you doing?” Hanzo pressed.

“Finding out that the human you tried to kill you is still alive,” Genji said breezily. 

“Nonsense, I tore him to ribbons,” Hanzo said, flaring his crests. Genji rolled his eyes, ignoring his brother’s dramatics.

“Clearly you didn’t, cause Angela and Satya said this Jesse person claims a mermaid attacked him,” Genji said. He drew to a stop, noticing that Hanzo had froze just behind him. He raised an eyebrow at his brother, noticing that he now carried the cross around his neck. Genji wondered if now would be a bad time to try and steal it for himself. 

“I...he freed me, Genji,” Hanzo confessed. Genji frowned at his brother. He couldn’t imagine Hanzo in any state of weakness. It just wasn’t him.

“I was trapped for hours in a tank higher than my head, and all I had to eat were fish caracasses. Jesse kept me company though, when he could. The other man didn’t care for me, outside of that I was kept whole until he could figure out a way to kill me and sell me limb for limb,” Hanzo said. 

“Why didn’t you tell Zarya?” Genji asked softly. Hanzo flashed blue, irritated.

“Because she would see it as a sign of weakness Genji, she has two mermen, and she’s looking for any excuse to get rid of one of us,” Hanzo snapped.

“That’s not true, Zarya likes us well enough,” Genji said quickly. He didn’t want to believe that the matriarch saw him as an unneeded mouth to feed. There was no question that Hanzo was more worthy to the pod; what use was Genji, but to look pretty and to flirt with the mermaids?

“Not when there’s not enough fish to go around. The only thing that keeps us around is the threat of humans, and she knows our time is running out anyways,” Hanzo said dryly. 

“What are you talking about?” Genji asked. 

“There’s a reason why we haven’t been running into other pods, Genji. Zarya’s afraid we’re the only ones left, if we can't find anyone from the southern oceans,” Hanzo explained. 

Genji bit his lip. He hadn’t spent much time worrying about other pods. Already he was in one that was unusual; most merpeople stuck to their regions. He thought of Angela, how she had said that humans didn’t know they still existed. 

“We should go looking for them, to keep everyone from worrying,” Genji decided. 

“It’s time we returned home, Mei will be happy to see tuna,” Hanzo said, ignoring Genji’s suggestion. 

“We could ask Angela and Satya about more merpeople sightings,” Genji continued, chasing after his brother. 

“Who’s Angela and Satya?” Hanzo asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

“Two humans, they’re quite nice. You didn’t have a problem the first time I mentioned them,” Genji pointed out.

“That’s because I was trying to figure out how I’m going to be able to keep Jesse silent about me, but now I have to worry about two more humans because my brother is fool,” Hanzo said. 

“They’re not like that, and they’ll speak with Jesse. If he freed you, I doubt he’d want to harm you,” Genji said. 

“You know nothing about humans,” Hanzo snorted. 

“Yeah, well, neither do you. We’ve spent all our lives hiding from them, and it’s about time we stopped hiding. In case you haven’t noticed, they’re killing us without even trying,” Genji said. 

Hanzo rounded on him with a snarl. Genji hissed, the crests on his spine rising to the challenge. They circled each other, trading mock blows until at last Genji whipped around, slashing Hanzo across the shoulder with his claws. His brother screamed in rage, and they tumbled into the depths, trading blow for blow. 

Genji felt the ocean floor against his back, and he spun away from Hanzo, racing for the pod. His brother gave chase, grabbing ahold of his brothers tail. He yanked Genji back, and Genji slammed the palm of his hand into his brother's forehead. Hanzo’s head snapped back, stunned. Genji shook himself free of Hanzo’s grip and continued his headlong pursuit for the safety of the pod.

He reached the inner circle of the pod just in time. Hanzo crashed into the back of Genji, and they spiraled into the sand once more. Genji heard the faroff scream of Zarya, a clear warning for them to stop before she intervened. He felt Hanzo loosen his grip on his back, and he struggled to sit up. 

“I am sick to death of this useless male posturing, Hanzo, Genji,” Zarya said, reaching on the two of them before they could break away. She reached out and grabbed ahold of Hanzo, who lashed out automatically. Genji watched numbly as she wrestled Hanzo into the sand with ease, holding him there until his crests laid flat on his back. She released him, looking thoroughly disgusted. Genji quickly undid his belt, holding it out for Zarya.

“I sent you both to hunt, not to pick a fight. At least Genji can understand his orders,” Zarya said, snatching the belt of seaweed from Genji. He bowed his head to her silently, not wanting to stir up trouble. 

“Tend to your wounds, I hope this is the last time you fight, but I’m used to disappointment,” She said, ripping a fish from the belt and tossing it to Genji. He grabbed the tuna out of the water. He glanced at Hanzo glumly, before swimming over to his resting spot. He noticed that Hanzo had kept his pearls pinned under a rock. He picked up the two separate strands, noticing that one of them had a few new additions. A pang of guilt hit him. Hanzo must’ve spent the majority of his day searching for pearls for him. Genji swam back over to his brother, and silently held out the tuna for him to eat first. After a moment's hesitation, Hanzo took it. They shared the tuna together, sitting among the seaweed. In the distance they could hear the mermaids conversing in their singsong voices, a part of a world they by default would never get to know. 

“Will you be patrolling with Widowmaker tonight?” Genji asked quietly. 

“No, she’s been standoffish of late. I think it’s Tracer,” Hanzo said. 

“Then you’ll meet the humans with me tomorrow?” Genji asked.

“I suppose, we’ll come to blows again if I disagree,” Hanzo said dryly, turning back into the seaweed to make himself a bed. 

“You’re the one who picked a fight first,” Genji grumbled to himself, fiddling with the pearl necklace in his hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, stupid mermen and their posturing. Don't worry, neither of them are seriously hurt, it's just part of their nature to be overtly aggressive. c: 
> 
> Thank you for reading!!! If you need to reach me, I'm at starameter.tumblr.com!


	4. Chapter 4

Jesse felt like shit. Correction. He felt like the scum at the bottom of the barrel. His face hurt abominably, and he had nothing to stop the ache until he could get to the nearest drug store. It didn’t help matters that he had told Gabe off for trying to talk him into trying to get his revenge on Hanzo. He didn’t know where Reyes got the idea from that Jesse was a vengeful man. Sure, he would love to punch Hanzo in his ugly mug, but that was just unrealistic. There was no way in hell he was going near the water again as long as he lived.

And he had no place to go home to on top of everything else. He figured that his landlord had pawned all his things off. It didn’t help matters that he was already a month’s behind on the rent, and had left for another month to start his short lived fishing career. Jesse chewed his bottom lip absently, wondering how on earth he was going to handle being homeless just now of all times. He had done it before, he could do it again, but it wasn’t his favorite thing by all means.

“Mister McCree, I’m here to escort you to the front, if you’re ready,” The friendly nurse said, her red hair pulled back into a bun. 

“Thank you for all your help, miss Emily,” jesse said, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smile. He figured it looked more like a grimace; Jesse was afraid that his days of charming men and women were far behind him. Still, Emily had been the only kind thing in the hospital since he had entered it, and she had only been with him for the last part of his stay. It must’ve been because she didn’t look at him as if he was half-mad. In fact, she gave him pitying looks. Jesse figured anything was better than feeling like he was going crazy. Even if his only proof was his ex boss, who had cut contact with him. 

“It’s only my job, and between you and me, I believe you,” Emily said, clutching her clipboard to her chest as she led the way down the hall.

“Pardon?” Jesse asked, keeping apace with her. 

“Oh, lets just say I had my own run in with a mermaid,” Emily said, glancing up at Jesse briefly. 

“I’ll be damned. Did he look like a devil?” Jesse asked, lifting his hand to tilt his hat up--too late, he realized that his hat was gone, probably incinerated after being left in the ambulance. Jesse cursed under his breath. Who was he, without his hat?

“No, he’s a she,” Emily said with a laugh. She paused in the hallway and thrust her hand into her shirt, pulling out a locket with a heart. She clicked it open, and a faint glimmer of orange-y gold scales winked up at Jesse. Jesse stared in wonder at them, a million and one things running through his head, but on the very top was the fact that there was definitely more than one of them.

“I mean, she did try to drown me, but then she saved my life I guess? I don't even know her name, if mermaids have names,” Emily said quickly, snapping the locket shut and shoving it back under her shirt before Jesse found his voice again. 

“They have names,” He said hoarsely. He cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze. “I mean, the merman I met sure did. His name is Hanzo.” 

“Hanzo, huh. I wonder if she has a name similar to his,” Emily said softly, tilting her head to the side, gazing wistfully into the distance. Jesse shrugged. 

“Well, I wish the best of luck to ya an’ your mermaid friend,” Jesse said, pulling her attention back from whatever she was thinking about.

“Oh! Right,” Emily blushed as she pushed ahead and through the front doors of the reception. Two strange women stood up the second they saw him, and Jesse automatically took a step back. He had to remind himself that technically, he hadn’t done anything wrong before he could calm down.

“Are you the Mr. McCree who reported the merman attack?” The blonde blurted out, her blue eyes shining with excitement. 

“The one an’ only, it’s a pleasure meetin’ fans,” Jesse said. The Indian woman rolled her eyes, nudging the blonde. 

“We’re not fans, exactly. Uh, let me introduce myself. I’m Angela Ziegler, and this is my associate Satya Vaswani. We’re marine biologists,” She said in a rush. 

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to cause any insult to injury,” He said, feeling embarrassed for assuming anyone would care about his run in with a supposedly mythological creature. 

“We’re here to see if you would be willing to go back out on the ocean and make amends with the merman who harmed you,” Satya said, a professional tone in her voice. Jesse scrunched up his nose, ignoring the pain in his face as he imagined coming face to face with Hanzo again. Well, if he went, he could ask Hanzo why the hell he stole his necklace. 

“Wait wait wait, can I go?” Emily burst in, and the three of them turned to her at once.

“I’m, well, it’s really a delicate matter--” Angela began.

“I’ve seen them before, and anyway I can clock off early, I never do so it’s not like I’ll be in trouble,” Emily said, ignoring Angela’s stuttering. Angela glanced at Satya, who shrugged.

“Hey now, I never said I was gonna come along,” Jesse said, placing a hand on his hip.

“Well, we can’t exactly force you,” Satya pointed out.

“I get it, I get it, y’all need someone to protect ya in case they go feral. Jus’ pick me up a greasy burger and we’ll call it even,” Jesse said, raising his hands in the air dramatically. He ignored the eyerolls in the room, smiling crookedly at himself. 

 

Jesse lounged in the only seat on the boat, having claimed it due to his ‘extensive’ injuries. He balled up the whataburger wrapper and threw it into the corner of the boat. He hated hospital food, and there was nothing like fast food to remind him of the real world. He guided the boat lazily with one hand as the three women chattered away at the back of the boat.

While they had prepared for the journey, Satya had mentioned that they got one of the mermen to start communicating with them in sign language. Emily was ecstatic. Jesse was relieved he wasn’t going to be dunked into the ocean three thousand times just because. He paid attention just long enough to learn the basics, before he slid on the cheap pair of sunglasses Angela had bought him as he steered the boat out of harbor. 

There was worse ways to spend his first day free. And he never imagined he was going to be here of all places. Or maybe it was just the pain meds talking. Thank god Emily was a nurse and insisted that they stop by the drugstore before they set out.

“Hey, cowboy, we’re almost there,” Angela said, leaning against the back of the chair. Jesse saluted her lazily, and she patted his shoulder affectionately as she turned back to the others. Jesse watched them all chatter away happily, trying to ignore the faint sense of anxiety broiling in his gut. 

Jesse wasn’t afraid of Hanzo per say. But also he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to meet him again so soon. Maybe he wanted to finish the job. Or something. But Jesse  _ had _ saved him, so maybe he owed him a life debt or something.

It was something to hold onto. He cut the ignition to the boat, and they slowly drifted to a stop in the middle of the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing against the boat filled the silence as they all waited in anticipation for the mermaids. 

Hanzo appeared all at once, landing on the outer rim of the boat gracefully. He appeared stuck in time momentarily as he flipped his hair back, hands gripping the rail to keep himself steady as he opened his eyes. He locked eyes with Jesse, and Jesse averted his eyes, feeling himself blush. 

“Oh! You must be Green’s brother!” Angela burst out, and Hanzo turned away from Jesse to glare at Angela. 

“Yeah, that would be him,” Jesse said, catching sight of his cross around the merman’s neck. He scowled.

“Hey, Hanzo, give me my damned cross back,” Jesse said, catching Hanzo’s attention. The merman studied him for a moment before signing a very firm ‘no’ right at him. 

“It wasn’t a request,” Jesse said sourly. The merman shook his head at him again, this time firmly turning his back to Jesse to face the three human women. Jesse considered getting up and pushing the merman off of the boat. 

Hanzo’s brother, Green or whatever his name was, jumped up next, although he didn’t stick the landing quite so gracefully. He landed in the boat with an audible thump, his koi patterned tail flipping about in frustration as he sat up, rubbing his head.

“Are you okay?” Angela asked, and the merman sat up on his side, signing something that allowed for Angela to relax. Jesse really should’ve paid more attention to the sign language basics Satya was giving out earlier. 

“Oh my goodness, this is just amazing,” Emily said faintly, covering her mouth with her hands. Hanzo and Green looked at her curiously, heads cocked to the side slightly. She fluttered her hands for a brief second, unsure what to do before she seemed to find her voice.

“Do you guys know an orange mermaid? She’s got short spiky brown hair, and a splay of freckles, and big brown eyes,” Emily said. Green blinked at her for a moment, before he seemed to realize who she meant. He rolled his eyes and clicked at Hanzo, who in turn made a scoffing noise. 

“We know who you mean, we can get her if you’d like,” Satya said, translating for Green. 

“Oh, would that be too much trouble? I wanted to thank her for the scales she gave me,” Emily said. The mermen conferred in their language for several moments, before Green heaved himself onto the railing of the boat, making a face at Hanzo before he plunged back into the water. Supposedly to get the orange mermaid, Jesse assumed. 

“You’re Hanzo, right? It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Satya said. Hanzo studied the woman for a long moment, calculating. Slowly, he reached up and pulled his hair over one shoulder, where he began to thread his fingers through. 

“He’s not very talkative,” Jesse put in. Hanzo glanced at him, glaring. Jesse winked at the merman coyly, but he figured it looked stupid, since he was wearing shades anyway. He took the sunglasses off and reached out, offering them to Hanzo. 

The merman reached out and took them delicately from Jesse, and gently placed them on his face. Jesse let out a low whistle. He didn’t look half bad in them. Hanzo took them off gingerly, and set them in his lap.

“I’m gonna need those back,” Jesse said. Hanzo stubbornly shook his head, but there was the faintest of smiles on his face. 

“I’m gettin’ robbed blind by this thing,” Jesse complained to the others. Angela and Satya were watching the two of them closely, the latter taking notes. Emily only gave him a thumbs up. He frowned, suddenly feeling like he was in some social experiment he hadn’t signed up for.

“Why aren’t y’all speakin’?” He asked.

“We don’t wanna interrupt,” Satya explained. 

Jesse startled when Hanzo sang his name. He turned to Hanzo, who was holding out his fist patiently. Jesse pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the merman, who waited until Jesse cupped his hands under Hanzo’s before he released his hand. Jesse stared at the scales in awe, turning them from side to side to catch the faint glimmer of blue in the ocean of black. 

“Thank you,” He said, at a loss for words. He figured this was as good of an apology he was gonna get. He glanced up and smiled at Hanzo crookedly, who only averted his eyes almost shyly. 

“Oh, I’ll get you a bag for that,” Angela said, hopping to her feet. Jesse stood up, embarrassed. It’s not like he had forgotten that they were sitting there, but he couldn’t deny that he was distracted by Hanzo. 

“Thank ya kindly,” He said when she handed him a ziploc. He slipped the scales inside of the bag and sealed it before pocketing it. He figured he would need to get a locket like Emily. Just then Green came back with the orange mermaid, and it was all Jesse could do to keep his footing. He felt himself go backwards, and he let out a cry. He felt a hand catch him, and he managed to save himself before he hit the ground. He looked up at his savior, noting that it was Hanzo. 

“Ah, well, we’re even about that life debt I suppose,” He joked lightly. The merman smiled down at him, a kind gesture. He let go of Jesse’s arm, and Jesse sat up to look at the newcomer. 

Well, she was definitely orange. The mermaid was chirping excitedly to Emily, her hands going mad with half-formed signs. 

“Calm down, calm down! I don’t understand!” Emily laughed, waving her hands back and forth to get the girl to calm down. The brunette finally stopped, blushing red. She took a deep breath and turned to Green, chirping something to him. Green dutifully signed what she said to Satya.

“It appears she wants you to get in the water Emily, so she can tell you their names,” Satya said, notes forgotten as she stared in wonder at the boat full of mermaids. 

“Oh, me? I’d be honored, I’m not wearing a bathing suit,” She said uncertainly. Hanzo made a scoffing noise and chirped at the two mermaids, before grabbing Jesse’s hand.

“Hey, what d’you think your doi-” Jesse began, before Hanzo yanked him into the water with him. Jesse only had time to yell in surprise as he was pulled in, and then he was surrounded by ocean.

“Jesse, I wanted to apologize formerly, in my language,” Hanzo said somewhere in the murk. Jesse opened his eyes, glaring at Hanzo through the salt water. He wanted to tell him that the scales were plenty enough, and besides he couldn’t just throw him in the water without fair warning. 

“The green-haired merman is my brother, Genji. He hates the nickname green, so he wanted to make sure that was corrected. Tracer is the mermaid, she’s the youngest of the pod,” He explained. He wrapped an arm around Jesse’s waist, and buoyed them back to the surface with ease. Jesse spluttered as soon as they hit the surface, taking a deep gulp of air. It was unnecessary, as Hanzo held him above the water with relative ease. 

“Are you okay?” Satya said, leaning over the side of the boat. Genji poked his head over as well, clicking something to his brother. Whatever it was made Hanzo drop Jesse and leave him floundering in the water for several seconds before he kicked himself back up to the surface. 

“Yeah, fine,” He said grumpily. He felt Hanzo nudge him towards the back of the boat, and Jesse kicked his way over. 

While they pulled him back onto the boat, Hanzo climbed back on on his own. Jesse frowned at him as he went and collapsed in the chair. He just hoped he wouldn’t be in danger of getting an infection now. 

“The green one’s name is Genji, and the orange is named Tracer,” He said, resting his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes. He hoped desperately that he would no longer be chucked into the ocean anymore. 

“Tracer is such a pretty name,” Emily said faintly, and Jesse assumed the happy squeak came from Tracer. 

“So, Genji, I’m sorry we didn’t figure your name out sooner,” Satya said. Jesse desperately wished he had his hat so he could just put it over his face and go straight to sleep. As it was, the rocking of the boat was making him exhausted, especially after his recent dunking. He tried his best to tune out the chatter around him.

He felt shades being slid onto his face, and his eyelids went from red to a muted black. He opened his eyes and saw Hanzo gazing down at him, a worried expression on his face. 

“Didn’t know ya had a kind bone in your body,” Jesse mumbled, closing his eyes once more. The merman thrummed uncertainly. He cracked an eye open, to see Hanzo frowning at him. 

“Darlin’, I’ve had worse,” He said, gesturing to his face and chest. 

‘No. I bad,’ Hanzo signed in fits and starts. Jesse frowned, sitting up. 

“Hey now, we’ve all got our reasons. For all you knew, I was just trickin’ ya into falling into a meat grinder or somethin,” He said. Hanzo only shook his head stubbornly.

“Hey, s’all water under the bridge. Jus’ don’t go throwin’ me in again. Humans hate that,” He said. Hanzo seemed to consider his words for a long moment before nodding. 

“Are we alright?” He asked. 

“Yes,” Hanzo signed, and Jesse clapped the merman on the back, taking great care not to smack his crest. He didn’t know who it’d hurt more, he did have spikes on the ends after all. 

Genji was in the middle of signing something elaborate to Satya and Angela, while Tracer had her head in Emily’s lap, listening to her talk about her day at the hospital. Jesse watched them fondly, even though he had met the majority of them that morning. He never wanted to leave that boat. Because he knew when they landed, everyone would part ways, and they would just remember the day fondly as something that only belonged in fairy tales. 

Jesse glanced back at Hanzo, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Hey, wanna meet again, by the beach or somethin?” He asked lightly, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. Hanzo didn’t meet Jesse’s gaze, but he nodded softly. Jesse smiled wryly. Hell, he might be homeless, but at least he’d get to see Hanzo again.

Genji very politely screeched at the two of them to get their attention. Jesse rubbed his ears as the merman chattered rapidly to his brother. With a huff, Hanzo signed a farewell to Jesse before he fell back into the ocean. Before long Tracer had followed suit, and Genji signed just long enough to explain that they were needed back before he disappeared as well. The four humans sat there for several long moments, feeling snubbed.

“Well, must’ve been important,” Emily said at last. 

“I just hope nothing’s wrong,” Angela said, frowning. 

“I’m sure they’re fine Angela, we’ll see them again,” Satya said. 

“I hope you’re right,” Angela sighed. 

The ride back to the harbor was somber. Angela and Satya made halfhearted plans to search for the mermaids tomorrow, but didn’t seem too taken with the idea. Jesse gave his seat up to Emily to practice driving the boat, and stationed himself beside Satya and Angela. 

“So, where’d ya learn sign language?” Jesse asked, to get their minds off of the issue at hand.

“I’m autistic, and for most of my childhood I was nonverbal. I managed to start talking around high school, but there are times when things get overwhelming and-” She broke off to sign something, and Angela nodded. 

“We met actually because no one in our graduate class would take the time to learn sign language for Satya. She was just trying to learn and be a part of group discussions, but no one gave a damn,” Angela said. 

“Angela was one of the only ones who cared enough to try,” Satya added softly. She glanced at Angela, who wrapped an arm around her affectionately. 

“That’s quite the story,” Jesse said. He didn’t mention the fact he barely graduated high school, was probably the least educated out of the four of them. It wasn’t that he never wanted to try, life just...found a way to make it never happen. 

“Yeah, she can be annoying at times, but she’s Angela, so that’s enough for me,” Satya said, laughing lightly as Angela punched her in the shoulder. Jesse closed his eyes once more, feeling the pain pills finally catch up to him. He drifted off before he could quite catch himself from doing so. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably wondering where those pesky mermaids went off to. Well, that's because two very important merpeople are coming in in the next chapter, and I've been dying to introduce them since the beginning! You're gonna love them. :)  
> Also, as a bit of a contest, if you're able to guess my favorite Overwatch character in the comments below, or on my tumblr(starameter), I will write a fic based on any prompt you give me! This includes any universe, ship, and whatever else strikes your fancy. (Please note that I am unwilling to write shimadacest or smut, thank you for understanding!)  
> As always, thank you for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

Genji dove ahead of the rest, leading the charge back to the center of the territory. The crests along his back stood on end, and he sensed Hanzo to his left, snarling a low warning. It would be the first time since Tracer that they had intruders, and from Zarya’s call, they were exceedingly dangerous. 

The threats in question were sitting politely on the sunken ship that Zarya and Mei called their nest. Genji pulled up, confused as he saw the matriarch politely conversing with the largest mermaid. The dark skinned mermaid had tusks that extended out just above her ears, curving inwards towards each other just below her chin. Beside her sat a juvenile mermaid, her tusks just knobs on the side of her head. The both of them had long, braided hair beaded together into long strands that framed their faces. Genji glanced at Hanzo, unsure what to do. His brother shrugged, and approached the four merpeople.

Genji followed wearily, lowering his crests. Tracer caught up to them, taking up Genji’s right. 

“Hanzo, Genji, Tracer, I’m afraid that Zarya was wrong about the intentions of our visitors,” Mei greeted them, grinning at something the older mermaid had said.

“This is Orisa and Efi, they’re from the southern atlantic,” Zarya explained, gesturing to each of the mermaids in turn.

“Nice to meet you! Why do you have that in your ear?” Efi asked, pointing at Genji. Genji blinked, startled to be called out so soon. He reached one hand up absently to touch the earring. He had forgotten he even had one; it wasn’t like they came across many whole mirrors on their travels, and the last one he had Hanzo had given it to Widowmaker as a gift. The ass. 

“It’s a piece of jewelry,” Genji said, lowering his hand. Efi smiled brightly, holding out her arm to show off the golden bangles on her wrist.

“It matches my bracelet!” She said happily. 

“Er, I suppose it does?” Genji said, feeling awkward. He glanced between Orisa and Efi, wondering why the older mermaid was sitting around with this juvenile like it was no big deal. 

“Efi is very personable, be careful, she’ll weasel you out of your earring before you know it,” Orisa said with a laugh. Genji crossed his arms over his chest. There was no way he was going to let some kid get his stuff. 

“Orisa, if you dont mind me asking, have you come into contact with any other pods besides ours?” Zarya asked. Orisa shook her head gravely. Mei sighed from beside Zarya, picking at her cuticles. Genji glanced between the two of them. He wondered how many nights they had stayed up, fretting over their existence in the coming years. 

“I suppose it’s safe to presume that you haven’t found anyone but yourselves here in the north, either?” Orisa asked. Beside her Efi shrank against her side, looking deflated. Genji bit his lip, feeling bad for her. He knew what it was like to be alone in the ocean, with only one person to rely on. He could remember the months they searched, the pure luck Hanzo and he had finding Zarya and Mei. It had felt like their world had expanded and shrunk all at the same time. 

“Hey, Efi, would you want some more bracelets?” Genji offered. Hanzo shot him a look of surprise. Genji made a face at him. He wasn’t the most generous of merpeople, but Efi was sad.

“Oh, I’d love that,” Efi said, leaving Orisa’s side. 

“Be back in half an hour, Efi. We should be talking by then,” Orisa informed the girl. Efi bobbed her head up and down, before following Genji. He took her to his little stash underneath a sandstone boulder. Hundreds of little gems glittered up at them, and he heard Efi gasp in awe.

“Everything’s so beautiful,” She whispered, picking up a paperclip and holding it up. Genji grabbed the two pearl necklaces near the bottom, looping them around his neck.

“You can have anything you’d like, except these,” He said. Genji felt that he was being very generous. 

“Okay,” Efi said brightly, and picked up a thick copper necklace with a silver charm on it, the sides of the charm rusting slightly. She undid the necklace and put it around her neck, clasping it. 

“What do you think?” Efi asked, looking up at him. Genji pretended to be deep in thought, turning his head this way and that as he studied her.

“I hate to break it to you, but you look absolutely wonderful,” He said at last, taking care to keep his tone neutral until the very end. Efi’s face transformed from disappointment to pure happiness as she turned back to the stash. 

“Could I have just one more?” She asked hopefully. 

“Of course,” Genji said. Who was he to deny her? For all he knew, they would be the last merpeople they would ever see again in their travels, unless they happened upon them again. Even that was unlikely; something was killing them off, and it wasn’t going to be something they would be able to beat. 

Efi chose another golden bangle to put on her wrist, and with that Genji lowered the sandstone rock. 

“You can’t tell anyone where my treasures are, or else they’ll take it all,” He said, placing a finger to his lips. Efi nodded, smiling down at her new gifts. 

“Is that big merguy your brother?” Efi asked.

“The ugly one?” Genji asked, and Efi giggled at him. “Yeah, he’s my brother. His name is Hanzo, I’m Genji,” 

“I had a sibling once,” Efi said, a sad look passing over her face. Genji glanced at the stone, wondering if another bauble would keep her from being sad.

“My brother and I weren’t really supposed to be together. Er, I suppose most northern mermaids don’t usually stay together. We create pods later on, when we’re adults,” Genji explained. Efi shook her head at him. 

“Orisa and I have been together since I was just an itty bitty egg. We always have a caretaker with us, to make sure we’re safe,” Efi said. “I had a brother at some point, but he started shedding his scales, and he just didn’t wake up one day.” 

“Oh, Efi,” Genji sighed. They had seen the corpses on their travels, Genji and him. Black haired mermaids and mermen, devoid of their scales as they rotted in the current. Neither he or his brother liked to talk about it much; they knew what had happened to their siblings. And they had no idea why they had been spared the same fate. 

“Orisa says we’re just the strongest there is, and that it was just his time. He used to eat seashells though, and sometimes when I miss him I collect them and leave little piles. So he knows where to find me,” Efi said. 

“I’m sure your brother is keeping you safe, just like Hanzo does for me,” Genji said. Efi smiled at him, rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hands. 

“Do you think Zarya will let us stay?” Efi asked. Genji shrugged. He couldn’t find it within himself to lie to the little mermaid. He had a feeling she would know if he did anyways. 

“I think she’ll pick the best option for all of us,” Genji admitted. 

“Which means she wont let us stay,” Efi said glumly, turning away from the rock. She headed back towards the meeting, and Genji had no choice but to follow. 

Hanzo arched an eyebrow at Genji when they came back to view. His look asked why on earth Efi had so many of his trinkets on her person. Genji shrugged, averting his brothers gaze. He really didn’t want to have a conversation about how a little kid swindled him out of his stuff because she had a sob story. 

Efi settled down beside Orisa, shyly showing her the new trinkets. Orisa smiled at each item Efi showed her, wrapping a protective arm around her. Genji noticed that Zarya and Mei were conferring a couple of yards away, and it looked like Mei was winning the argument. Genji chose to sit beside Tracer, who was drawing vaguely humanoid shapes into the sand. 

“You’re helpless,” he told her. 

“I’m not helpless, I just really like a girl,” Tracer said defensively. 

“We have proof that there’s no more mermaids south of here except for these two, and you’re thinking about a human,” Genji scoffed. Tracer shoved Genji away, hissing her annoyance. 

“No matter why Widowmaker is fed up with you,” Genji said, rolling his eyes. 

“Shut up, she isn’t fed up with me, she’s just annoyed I talk to other people now,” Tracer said. 

“Uh huh, whatever you say,” Genji floated away from her, returning to his brother. 

“How did the girl get your favorite charm and bangle?” Hanzo asked. Genji cursed under his breath, remembering why he was trying to avoid Hanzo.

“She watched her brother die, she leaves little trails for him with seashells, I couldn’t just hide my stash and say ‘oh thats so sad dear, now run along’ now could I?” Genji said defensively. 

“Weak,” Hanzo said, jabbing Genji in the side. 

“Her brother had whatever killed our siblings,” Genji said quietly. Hanzo stilled from beside him. 

“Are you certain?” Hanzo asked. 

“She said his scales fell off, and he died in his sleep. It matches up to all the bodies we found without their scales,” Genji replied. This time Hanzo cursed, loud and drawn out. Efi lifted her head to glance at Hanzo, and Genji raised his hand in greeting. She waved back shyly to him, before turning back to Orisa. 

“Whatever it is, it’s killing us all,” Hanzo said. 

“Not the current pod, plus Efi and Orisa,” Genji pointed out. “We could be the immune ones, and maybe our children will be as well.”

“We can’t just rely on chance for that sort of thing, Genji. We’ll need to talk to the humans. I hate to say it, but we’re out of our element here, and if they can protect our children, it’s worth a try,” Hanzo said.

“You’re not saying we give them our eggs?” Genji asked. It would never happen. It was inconceivable. Hanzo seemed to arrive to the same conclusion, his face hardening. 

“There’s no other way. But not yet. The humans we’ve met, they’re our best shot, but it’ll have to be a last resort,” Hanzo said. 

Genji hummed in reply, staying silent as Zarya and Mei came back into the pod, the former looking resigned, the latter pleased. 

“We would love to have you both stay, as long as you wish,” Mei said brightly. Efi broke into a wide smile, and she zipped over to Genji.

“Genji! Did you hear that? I get to stay and since I do, you have to pierce my ears!” She said excitedly, clasping her hands in front of her. 

Genji could sense Hanzo turning his head slowly to stare at him in shock. Genji ignored his brothers look. The truth of how Genji got his ear pierced was that he asked Hanzo to just force the earring through his earlobe. It had been a traumatic experience for the two of them. And Hanzo’s expression spoke volumes about how he felt about Genji piercing Efi’s ears.

“C’mon, Orisa said it would be okay if you’re willing,” Efi pleaded. 

“Not today, I’ll have to find a suitable earring,” He said evasively. 

“Okay, but a promise is a promise,” Efi said, beaming at him. She turned back to return to her own matriarch’s side, touching her arm assuredly. 

“We will have to find our own place to rest tonight, but I assure you we will be ready to hunt in the morning,” Orisa said to Zarya.

“Thank you, we have been having trouble catching fish as of late,” Zarya said. 

“Have you tried using netting?” Orisa asked. Zarya shook her head.

“I wouldn’t imagine so, Efi had the idea to imitate the human’s nets with seaweed threaded together, and then envelop the shoals before they know what’s coming for them,” Oris explained. 

“If Efi is willing to show me how to weave the seaweed, I can certainly have it ready for tomorrow,” Mei said. 

“Of course! Anything to help my new pod,” Efi said, and swam away in the direction of where Genji could only presume she knew where seaweed was. Mei shared a bemused look with Zarya before following the little mermaid. 

“I have a feeling that girl is going to change everything around here,” Hanzo said, frowning. 

“She has a way of doing that,” Orisa said, overhearing him. Hanzo blushed, startled to be heard by her. Genji jabbed him in the side, taking great pleasure in his brother's embarrassment. 

“Way to be rude, brother,” He teased.

“Shut up,” Hanzo huffed. 

“Where’s Widowmaker?” Genji asked, looking around. 

“She threatened to attack Orisa and Efi, I drove her off,” Zarya said, scowling at the mention of her name. 

“I can go look for her, with Genji,” Hanzo offered. 

“Thank you, and please tell her that they’re part of the pod now. I don’t need another bloody fight on my hands,” Zarya said, glaring pointedly at the two of them. 

“Yes, Zarya,” Genji and Hanzo said, bowing their heads respectfully to her before turning and going. 

“Where do you think she is?” Genji asked. 

“She’ll be sunbathing, Widowmaker always does that when she gets in a fight with Zarya or Tracer,” Hanzo said. 

“I don’t understand why she keeps starting shit, it’s not like Zarya is unreasonable,” Genji said. He left the part about Tracer alone. It was obvious to anyone--except Tracer naturally--that Widowmaker was in love with her. 

“Mei explained it to me one time, it’s a part of every matriarch’s rite of passage. They join a pod and learn from the head matriarch, challenging her along the way to prove themselves. Generally they find their lifelong mate in that pod, and break off before they get killed by the matriarch from challenging her over and over again,” Hanzo said. 

“Huh, since when do you talk to Mei?” Genji asked.

“Since you started putting your head in the sand,” Hanzo said, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, not fair. I just have more important things to think about,” Genji said defensively. 

“Like adding onto that necklace of yours?” Hanzo asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Okay but you gave me the first one when we were little, so technically it's your fault,” Genji shot back. 

“It seems it’s always my fault,” Hanzo said, laughing lightly. Genji swatted his brother over the head, and Hanzo shoved him away good-naturedly. They tussled for a moment, before remembering their original goal.

Widowmaker did turn out to be on the rocks, such as Hanzo guessed. She was none too pleased to see Genji, but she tolerated his presence because of Hanzo. She was brushing her hair out with a comb, pointedly ignoring a deep gash in her tail. So Zarya had to hurt her before she finally got the hint. Genji bit his lip. That couldn’t be good. 

“So they’re staying with us, forever potentially,” Hanzo said, settling himself down beside her. She flicked her wrist, pointing the comb towards him. Hanzo took it and began to brush out his own hair. 

“She’s a damned fool. Just because we haven’t met many merpeople doesn’t mean we should let just anyone in. They could be murderous, they could bring harm to us,” Widowmaker said, looking sullen as she began to braid her hair. 

“Zarya has her reasoning, it isn’t up to us to question it,” Hanzo said.

“I think someone has to. I’m tired of how she runs everything,” Widowmaker huffed. Genji watched her fingers thread the hair together with expert accuracy, eyes lowered, face full of disdain. 

“What do you intend to do, take Tracer hostage and go?” Hanzo asked. Genji poked at the moss on the edge of the rock, trying really hard to pretend like he wasn’t there so they would keep talking. 

“Eugh, she’s besotted with some filthy human, as if a human will truly understand us,” Widowmaker said scornfully. 

“Besotted or not, she’s not going to like you any more than she already does if you let this run its course,” Hanzo pointed out. 

“She’ll let the damned girl take all her scales and split her down the tail,” Widowmaker said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. 

“And if she does, if she truly loves this girl, do you have it in you to let her go?” Hanzo asked, so quiet that Genji had to strain to hear. 

“You act as if they’ve known each other their entire lives. This will pass, just like all of Tracer’s other fancies,” Widowmaker said with a snort. 

“Hmmph,” Hanzo said. Genji kept his mouth shut. There was a reason Widowmaker and him were best friends; if Hanzo couldn’t get through to her, no one else was going to be able to. 

“I suppose I have to greet our new friends. I hope the little one won’t look at me like I bit her nose off again,” Widowmaker said, sighing dramatically. Hanzo handed her her comb back, and she hid it in the ledge of one of the stones. She cast one glance up towards the heavens before diving in. 

“It’s going to be bad, isn’t it?” Genji asked Hanzo. Hanzo gazed at the water after where Widowmaker had gone. 

“There’s nothing to be done but let her get her heart broken. That, or Tracer stops crushing on the human,” Hanzo said. 

“I’m betting on the girl,” Genji said. Tracer hadn’t liked anyone until that human had come around, and she had gone and given her some of her scales even. Any merperson knew the significance of such a gesture. It was flirtatious; a suggestion of desire. 

“I’m betting on Amelie, for her sake,” Hanzo said, and dove into the water. Genji looked around at the wide world of blueish hues. He tried to think of living amongst the humans, trapped in a big bubble of water as he rolled across the land. Genji shivered as the wind whistled through his hair. No. His home was in the ocean, and it always would be. He just didn’t know if it would be for whatever children he had. He followed Hanzo into the depths. 


	6. Chapter 6

Tracer gripped the edge of the net, heart in her throat. She watched the throng of fish as it neared, and across the way Genji squared his shoulders. She did the same, drawing her face into a grimace as the fish descended upon them. For what appeared to be an eternity they were swallowed up by nothing but silvery fish, until at long last they cleared. Tracer swam towards Genji, and together the two merfolk tied the net up, effectively trapping the live shoal within. Hanzo clapped Genji on the shoulder.

“I can’t believe it actually works,” Hanzo said.

“Of course it works, Efi made it,” Genji said proudly. 

“You didn’t feel that way the first time we tried it,” Tracer pointed out, grinning. 

“Yeah, well,” Genji stuck his tongue out at her. 

“Real mature, brother,” Hanzo said, rolling his eyes. He grabbed ahold of the net, and together the three of them dragged the net of trapped fish back towards the pod.

“Hallo!” Efi shouted, waving her arms at them from the second they came into view. Tracer couldn’t keep a smile off her face. Ever since Efi and Orisa had arrived, everything had appeared to be brighter. Efi’s bubbly personality was just plain infectious, and Orisa brought a sense of security they hadn’t known they were missing.

Tracer spotted a flash of purple just out of her field of vision. She scowled. Amelie certainly wasn’t helping the attitude of the group. In fact, she had spent most of her time on the outskirts of the pod. Not even once she came up to see how Efi’s invention worked! Instead she just sulked and occasionally talked to Hanzo or Genji. Tracer just didn’t get it; it was like a switch was flipped inside of her, and Tracer just didn’t matter to her anymore. 

Tracer waved back to Efi. She needed to stop caring about what that gloomy mermaid thought of her. She would come around eventually. 

“How’s the net holding up? Can I help with killing the fish? I thought that maybe if we used rocks to pin the net down, we could brain the fish, and it would be easier-” Efi rattled on, taking ahold of the net and yanking it along with them. 

“Hang on, you’ll bite your own tongue off,” Hanzo teased. 

“I’m gonna tell Orisa that you’re being mean again,” Efi said, pouting. 

“Please don’t,” Hanzo said, shuddering. Genji stifled a laugh. 

“Wait, when did you get on Orisa’s bad side?” Tracer asked. 

“Hanzo told me that my tusks could grow inwards, and I’d end up with them coming out of my cheeks,” Efi said breezily. Tracer glared at Hanzo sharply. 

“Hey, I was only teasing,” Hanzo said defensively. 

“It’s okay Efi, Hanzo keeps telling me my hair is green because I ate seaweed when I was little,” Genji said. Efi wrinkled her nose.

“You ate seaweed?” She asked incredulously. 

“He still does,” Hanzo said, opening the net just enough so he could reach in and snag a fish. He beheaded it with ease, twisting the head off with his hands. 

“Shut up I do not,” Genji said quickly, holding the opening of the net closed. 

“Sure ya don’t, seaweed breath,” Tracer teased. Genji scowled at her, opening the net so she could grab a fish herself. Together the three of them went through the net, until they had a dozen and a half fish tied by their tails to a length of rope Efi had found in some wreckage. Efi tied the fish up expertly, humming all the while. 

“Well, now that the hunting is done, I must be going,” Tracer said brightly. 

“Where do you go all the time?” Efi asked. 

“Goes to see her mate is what she does,” Genji muttered, and Tracer punched him in the shoulder. He hissed at her, holding his shoulder. 

“Oh, please, it didn’t even hurt a little bit,” Tracer said, rolling her eyes. 

“Still, you know it's true,” Genji said, rubbing his shoulder pointedly. 

“Emily isn’t my mate or whatever. We’re  _ girlfriends, _ ” Tracer said proudly. Hanzo raised an eyebrow at her. 

“It’s….human slang for sorta kinda mates,” Tracer said, deflating a little.

“Hah! Knew it,” Genji said, beaming. 

“Just be careful Tracer, just because we have Orisa now doesn’t mean we’re any safer from the humans,” Hanzo said. 

“I know, I know. That’s why we meet up so late, so that any other beachgoers can’t see us unless they walk under the dock,” Tracer said. Hanzo huffed. Well, at least she was trying to be deceptive. That's the most he could ask of her anyway.

“Bye, Tracer! Promise me you’ll bring something back?” Efi asked. 

“Of course, if Emily doesn’t mind,” Tracer said brightly. She waved goodbye to the trio, heading in the direction of the docks. Most of the things that Emily gave Tracer for Efi were forks and spoons, odds and ends that glimmered just enough to catch Efi’s eye. Although, if truth be told, Efi had been bending the metals into crude hooks; she had a feeling the merkid had something in the works. 

Tracer swam up onto the shore, taking care to be underneath the dock. The moon had begun its slow ascent by then; framing the water in silver. Tracer hugged one of the beams tightly, letting out a sigh. Emily wasn’t there yet, and Tracer hated waiting for her. The girl always brought something along with her. Whether it was a book--Tracer’s favorite book so far was one about a boy lost in a jungle being raised by wolves, whatever any of that was--or a flickering box that showed smaller humans inside of it, Tracer was automatically enthralled. 

Tracer brushed her hair out her eyes. She would have to cut it soon. Amelie usually did it with a shard of glass, but she still wasn’t talking to Tracer. It just wasn’t like her to hold a grudge for so long. Tracer  _ had  _ tried to fix things between them. If...fixing things was just avoiding each other and acting like nothing had happened. 

Maybe Emily would have the answer to her issue. If she ever showed up. Tracer flopped backwards onto the sand, pouting. A beam of light sliced through the night, and Tracer shut her eyes against it. She absolutely loathed flashlights. The light neared until it turned her eyelids red, and finally it clicked off. 

“Yknow, I could be a mermaid expert wanting to dissect you,” Emily scolded. Tracer opened her eyes, smiling adoringly up at Emily. She signed hello to her as Emily sat cross-legged beside her. Tracer shifted just enough so that her head rested comfortably in her lap and sighed contently. 

“You do need to be more careful,” Emily said, running her hands absently through Tracer’s damp hair. Tracer thrummed, pushing into the touch. She loved Emily and how gentle she was. 

‘There are two new mermaids from the south,’ Tracer signed. 

“Oh my god, that’s so cool,” Emily said. “Are they staying for long?” 

‘They’re a part of the family now, Zarya accepted them in,’ Tracer signed.

“That’s great news! I’m glad you have new family to be around. I’ve always wanted a large family myself,” Emily said, sighing wistfully. Tracer watched Emily carefully, noting the look of sadness in her eyes. She wondered what had caused her to be so sad. Tracer wished she could make it better. 

‘I’m family,’ Tracer signed, forming the words hesitantly. 

“Oh, oh well of course you are,” Emily said, “there’s no way I could forget about you, you’ve changed my whole life.” 

‘How so?’ Tracer asked. 

“It’s silly, really,” Emily said, shaking her head. 

‘Never silly, you’re the best,’ Tracer said, frowning to drive her point home.

“Well, y’know those other humans on the boat, Satya and Angela and Jesse? We’ve been hanging out a lot, and when I first moved here, I didn’t really have anyone. But now I have a group of friends who just listen to me and understand what it’s like and, oh, it’s like you’ve given me something I’ve never had,” Emily burst out. Tracer sat up and turned to Emily.

‘Family is something we always made. They’re your family too,’ Tracer signed. 

“Oh, Tracer,” Emily pulled her into a hug, drawing away. She glanced from Tracer’s eyes to her lips, blushing. Tracer ran her tongue along the bottom and top of her teeth, wondering if she had a bit of fish stuck in them. 

“I would...I would like to kiss you, if that’s alright,” Emily said, resting her hands on Tracer’s shoulders. 

‘What’s kissing?’ Tracer asked. 

“It’s--oh, it’s too hard to explain. Do you mind if I just showed you?” Emily asked. Tracer nodded.

“Okay, so close your eyes and hold still, I promise it won't hurt or anything,” Emily instructed. Tracer did as she asked, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do next. 

She felt cool lips brush against hers, soft and assuring against Tracer’s. She froze, wondering what to do before she pressed back, kissing Emily gently. She never, ever wanted to be doing anything else for the rest of her life. Tracer reached out and wrapped her arms around Emily’s waist, feeling Emily’s hands in her hair.

All too soon Emily broke away, looking flushed as she pressed a hand to her chest. 

“Sorry, oh goodness, that wasn’t too far was it?” She asked. Tracer shook her head rapidly and leaned forward, trying to kiss her again. 

“Woah, hang on, did you even like kissing me?” Emily asked, frowning. 

Tracer nodded rapidly. With a laugh, Emily grabbed Tracer by the shoulders and fell backwards, so that Tracer was on top of her. She took great delight in kissing Emily, pleased by the sounds she was making. At some point Tracer fell to the side of Emily to stare at the beams of the crosswalk above, feeling blissful. 

“You’re a good kisser for someone who’s never done that before,” Emily said. Tracer laughed, taking Emily’s hand in her own. Emily gave her hand a squeeze. Tracer was very much in love, she realized. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that a nice short and sweet chapter would be nice before things started going south. also I am adding two chapters to the end of the fic, just so I get everything done properly! Also, my wonderful friend drew mer!hanzo and he's absolutely gorgeous!!! You can find the fanart here! ( https://magical-apostacy.tumblr.com/post/158535871558/jumpin-on-the-merhanzo-bandwagon-this-is-a )   
> As always, thank you for reading!!


	7. Chapter 7

Jesse pressed his hat comfortably over his face, kicking back in his chair. The wind howled through the window of the kiosk. Jesse couldn’t be happier. Emily had found his hat in the lost and found of the hospital, and he had found a nifty job selling keychains to the locals. He still didn’t have a place to live, but Satya let him bum around her couch from time to time. 

He listened to the souvenirs rattle in the wind, a poor man’s windchime. 

It was going to be okay, whatever life threw at him. He just had to hold on. Jesse tilted his hat up and glanced at the time, biting back a groan. If only life went by a little quicker. Jesse had intended to take a nap to make the time go by faster, but anxiety was gnawing away at the back of his mind. The thing was, he was ridiculously excited to see Hanzo. Angela had brought him the plans for them to hang out, passed along diligently through Genji just the other day. Since then, it was as if he was back in high school, waiting anxiously for the first date. It was a shame he couldn’t take Hanzo to the movies.

He would just have to do with the bag of groceries he had gotten for their date. He figured Hanzo had never tried anything sweet in his life, which was practically a crime. After much deliberation, he had chosen honey, along with what the local box store considered to be fresh tilapia. Jesse guessed that if Hanzo didn’t like the honey, he might like the fish. Then there was a dingy florida keychain that had been accidentally sent to the kiosk he was allowed to keep, and several more charms that he swiped throughout his shifts. Jesse just hoped they were enough to goad the merman into giving him his cross back. 

Jesse glanced at the clock again. With a groan, he swung his feet down and reached up, pulling the metal curtain down the front. The keychains settled into their perches, but not without a dolphin one clattering to the counter first. He absently replaced it, locking the place up as he went along. There wasn’t anyone on the beach anyway, he figured it wouldn’t be a public crime if he closed down a few minutes early.    
He stepped out onto the beach, pausing long enough to lock the door before walking out into the sand. He whistled a tune, admiring the crescent moon above the water. Jesse settled down just out of reach of the surf, watching the crabs scuttle on their way. He picked up a pearlescent shell, rolling it in his palms as he waited. 

Hanzo called to him from the water, a flash of blue in the inky blackness. Jesse raised his hand in greeting. The merman disappeared again, appearing moments later as he rode the crest of a wave up onto the beach. He pulled himself the rest of the way up, so that he sat just beside Jesse. He had done his hair up into a fishtail braid, in which he had pulled over one shoulder so he could fiddle with the bit of seaweed that held it together. 

“You’re lookin’ mighty fine tonight,” Jesse said, rustling around in the bag. Hanzo thrummed happily, the crests on his spine rising. Jesse hid the smile on his face. He would have to remember that, how Hanzo was secretly vain. 

“I thought I’d bring ya some treats, since y’know, there’s a lot you’re missin’ out on,” He said conversationally, popping the jar of honey open. Hanzo trilled, laughing in his own soft way at Jesse. 

“What’s so funny, I’m just tryina be hospitable,” Jesse said defensively. Hanzo held out a sea urchin to him shyly. 

“Hm,” Jesse said cleverly. Hanzo rolled his eyes, setting the creature down.

‘It’s a delicacy, I figured you would want to try it,’ Hanzo signed. 

“Oh! Darlin’ you didn’t haveta do that,” Jesse said, rubbing the back of his neck. What he wanted to say was that he was pretty sure urchins were poisonous to him. Still, it would be rude to turn down Hanzo. The merman cracked the urchin open with his bare hands, spilling the urchin’s blood on the sand as he peeled a piece of flesh off. He handed it to Jesse, who took it gingerly. He watched Hanzo wearily, waiting until the merman ate a piece before he dared to eat his. The flesh was surprisingly sweet, tasting of the ocean on top of everything else. 

“Now, what in Sam hell,” He exclaimed with a frown, reaching out for another piece. Jesse ate the rest of the sea urchin just to make sure his brain wasn’t playing tricks on him. Hanzo trilled in laughter at him, hiding his smile behind a hand. 

“Okay, you gotta try my stuff now, no complainin’,” Jesse said, grabbing a spoon and getting a bit of honey for Hanzo. He held it out to him, holding his breath as the merman took it gingerly and licked a bit of the syrup.

A look of shock and confusion passed over Hanzo’s face. Jesse tapped his fingers against his knee, waiting for some sort of reaction. The merman put the rest of the honey in his mouth, sucking on the spoon as a look of wonder crossed over his face. 

“Didja like it?” Jesse asked, grinning foolishly at Hanzo. Hanzo handed the spoon back, licking his fingers. 

‘It’s sweeter than anything I’ve ever had before,” Hanzo said, and reached out for the jar. Jesse snatched it away.

“Hey now, too much could make ya sick,” Jesse said, getting Hanzo another spoonful anyway. They sat side by side, watching the moon rise higher and higher as he enjoyed his treat.

“Sea turtles used to come here, back when we had ‘em,” Jesse said, tracing a turtle in the sand. “They’re all gone now, ‘cept in aquariums.” 

Hanzo nodded gravely, picking up on Jesse’s mood. Jesse didn't say anything when Hanzo snuck some more honey. 

“They would bury their eggs here, and for a time we would guard them. But it was no use, the water’s too acidic or somethin’ an’ they all died. It’s sad, seein’ things that won’t ever know where they came from,” Jesse said. He leaned back onto his arms, stared up at the stars. Hanzo shifted beside him, until he too laid beside him. 

“I suspect you don’t even know what a turtle is, given they were gone from the ocean before you were born,” Jesse said. Hanzo shook his head. 

“Well, they’re somethin’ else, that’s for sure. Wiser than any human I’ve ever met, and I know Satya,” Jesse laughed lightly. 

‘I used to want to go to the moon,’ Hanzo signed after a while. He had the honey jar in his hands, and he was using his fingers to scoop the stuff out. Jesse leaned over and gently pried the jar from him. Hanzo hissed half-heartedly, but let him take it. Jesse set it on the other side of himself. 

“Funny story, we’ve been up there,” Jesse said. 

‘Liar,’ Hanzo snorted. 

“No, for real! It was somethin’ around a hundred or so years ago, sure, but we got all sorts of people livin’ on the moon now,” Jesse said. Hanzo scoffed, and shoved Jesse’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I never said I was up there, jus’ other people. Anyway, it’s kinda like bein’ in water, but you float in air instead,” Jesse said. 

‘I wish I could go,’ Hanzo signed, a wistful sigh escaping him. 

“Now, the first merman in space? That’s somethin’ I gotta see,” Jesse teased. 

‘It would be something worthwhile,’ Hanzo signed. Jesse grunted in response. What he considered to be worthwhile was tonight, a brief period in time where he got to live with the salt water seeping into his skin. 

“I gotcha somethin’ else, if you wanna try it,” Jesse said, sitting up abruptly. He pulled out the packaged fish fillet, ripping the plastic. Hanzo rested his chin on Jesse’s shoulder, watching what he was doing. 

“It’s freshwater now, so it’s not near as salty as what you’re used to,” Jesse said, picking up the fillet and handing it to Hanzo. He took it gingerly, biting into the fish experimentally. He spat it out almost immediately, making a face of pure disgust. 

“Not a winner, eh?” Jesse asked, as the merman chucked the fillet as far into the water as he possibly could. Hanzo shook his head, wiping his hands off in the sand.

“I was hopin’ to sweeten you up, but I guess this’ll have to do,” Jesse pulled out the florida keychain, along with a rocket ship charm and a discolored peach. He thanked his lucky stars he had thought to grab a space related keychain of all things. Hanzo hummed appreciatively at the items, reaching out for them. Jesse held them out of arm’s reaching, holding up a hand for him to wait. Hanzo sat back with a huff, tail flipping in agitation. 

“Listen now, that cross you’ve been carryin’ around like no big deal is mighty important to me. I would like to trade for it,” Jesse said. Hanzo scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Hanzo, don’t be difficult,” Jesse began. Hanzo turned his head away, snorting. 

“Don’t be like that,” Jesse said, reaching out to Hanzo. The merman drew his shoulder away, turning his back to him.

“Dear  _ lord _ , fine, keep the damn thing,” Jesse said, exasperated. Hanzo turned back, looking pleased with himself. He held out a hand for the charms, and Jesse shoved them into his hand. 

“You’re lucky you’re so pretty,” Jesse grumbled, glaring at Hanzo out of the corner of his eye as Hanzo took off the necklace, where he looped the gaudy charms onto the chain along with the cross. Hanzo purred low in his throat, putting the necklace back on and resting a hand against the charms. 

“The cylindrical one is a rocket ship, jus’ so ya know. That’s what humans use to go to moon an’ the like,” Jesse said, softening a little as he noted how pleased Hanzo looked. 

‘I love it,’ Hanzo signed, and Jesse believed him. 

“The other’s a peach, i’ll haveta bring you one sometime. It’s kinda like honey, ‘cept it’s juicier,” Jesse said. “An’ the third is florida. I ain’t explainin’ florida. Too complicated.” 

‘Did you keep my scales?’ Hanzo signed. 

“Course I did darlin’, they’re right here,” Jesse reached under his shirt and pulled out the locket. Emily had brought him one just for the scales, and he clicked it open for Hanzo to see. The scales glowed a faint blue, reacting to the moonlight. He clicked it shut again, hiding it underneath his shirt. 

‘I have a present for you too,” Hanzo signed. He reached up into his hair, digging a finger through the braids until a silvery pearl fell out onto the beach. He picked it up, rolling it between his hands before holding it out to Jesse. He took it from Hanzo, staring in awe at the small little thing.

‘My brother loves pearls. I thought you might like one too,’ Hanzo signed, ducking his head. Jesse tilted his head to the side. 

“Aw  _ shucks _ , honey, are ya embarrassed about givin’ me such a wonderful present?” Jesse asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit one, breathing in deeply before nudging Hanzo. The merman looked up, just in time to watch a smoke ring blossom past Jesse’s lips.

He reached out, hand passing through the ring effortlessly. Hanzo made a face of frustration, and signed for Jesse to do it again. With a laugh, Jesse obeyed, creating smoke rings. Hanzo quickly gave up on trying to catch them, and settled for watching them dissipate as they drifted away from them. Then the wind picked up again, and that was the end of the smoke rings. Jesse stubbed the cigarette butt out in the sand, shoving it back into his pocket. He figured that littering wouldn’t reflect well on himself. 

‘Tracer told me about this thing you humans do,’ Hanzo signed, going right back to not looking Jesse in the eye. 

“Oh, and what’s that?” Jesse asked. He wondered what Emily had been telling Tracer. God only knew it was something like how humans grew toenails past death or something to the effect. 

‘She called it kissing, and said that you would probably show me,’ Hanzo signed. Jesse cleared his throat. Well, that settled it.

“Ah, it’s sorta uh, a sign of affection y'know, between two people who are ah, close an’ have a likin’ towards each other,” Jesse rambled, rubbing the back of his neck. Hanzo lifted his head, watching Jesse closely.

“I don’t know what would be the equivalent to y’all, maybe like, rubbin’ noses or--” He was broken off by Hanzo leaning forward, resting a hand on Jesse’s face. Hanzo brushed a thumb up and down the pink scars on Jesse’s face. Jesse swallowed hard, trying to figure out what Hanzo was thinking. Hanzo thrummed low in his throat, eyes half-slitted shut as he closed the gap between the two of them, kissing Jesse softly. Jesse reached up inadvertently, lacing his fingers into Hanzo’s braid. He tasted of fish and honey. He felt Hanzo’s hands in his hair, pulling gently. Jesse’s hat fell off, he couldn’t care less. He figured there was only once in his life he was going to be kissing a merman, and he was going to make the most of it. 

Hanzo pulled away, biting his lip as he studied Jesse closely. Jesse pulled his hands away, noting that he had quite mussed up Hanzo’s braid.Jesse dropped his gaze, a blush creeping up his neck. 

“Sorry bout your hairdo,” he said bashfully, picking up his hat and fiddling with it. Hanzo hummed thoughtfully, and rested his head on Jesse’s shoulder once more. Jesse rested his head on top of Hanzo’s after a moment. 

‘So that’s kissing,’ Hanzo signed at last.

“Sorry if I lived to disappoint,” Jesse joked lightly. 

‘No, not at all,’ Hanzo signed back. 

“Aw sugar, you know just how to make me feel better,” Jesse said. Hanzo snorted. Jesse figured he was rolling his eyes at him. He was perfectly happy to sit there for an eternity with Hanzo beside him, looking out at nothing and hearing the crashing of the waves on the shoreline.

‘I should go,’ Hanzo signed at last.

“You break my heart with that kinda talk,” Jesse said dramatically, pressing his lips against Hanzo’s hair. 

‘Other humans may not take kindly to seeing me,’ Hanzo replied, pulling away. He deftly unbraided his hair, letting it stream down his back in its usual style. 

“Have any others seen you before?” Jesse asked. 

‘A child or two. Widowmaker and I like to give them a scale if they’re brave enough to come up to us,’ Hanzo signed.

“I imagine their parents don’t buy it,” Jesse said. 

‘I wouldn’t know, we usually leave before they can investigate for themselves.’ Hanzo said. 

“Huh, that’s mighty sweet to give them something to remember y’all by,” Jesse said, placing his hat on top of his head once more. Hanzo glanced at him in amusement, eyeing his hat.

“Don’t get any bright ideas, this one is mine,” Jesse said defensively, grabbing his hat. Hanzo made a show of rolling his eyes dramatically, as if he hadn’t even considered it. 

“I’ll be seeing you again?” Jesse asked hopefully, letting his guard down for just a moment. Hanzo nodded, leaning forward to kiss him. Jesse hardly noticed his hat being taken from his head until he had pulled away, and Hanzo placed it smartly on top of his head. He smiled at Jesse. 

“Don’t do me like this darlin’,” Jesse whined. Hanzo grinned even more, but gave the hat back nevertheless. Jesse clutched the hat to his chest and shut his eyes. 

“I almost lost you once, never again,” He said, putting the hat back on his head. When he opened his eyes Hanzo was staring at him quizzically. 

“A man can be attached to his hat, don’ judge,” Jesse said. Hanzo laughed, shaking his head softly. 

‘Goodnight, Jesse,’ Hanzo signed.

“Goodnight, honey,” Jesse replied. 

Hanzo stared down at the turf, thinking for a long moment.

‘Mind carrying me in a little ways?’ Hanzo signed. 

“Don’ mind if I do,” Jesse said, getting to his knees. He picked Hanzo up bridal style, staggering to his feet. Hanzo wrapped his arms around Jesse’s neck, hissing in terror when it seemed that Jesse was about to drop him.

“Aww, I won't drop ya, don’t worry your pretty little head,” Jesse said breezily, heading right into the water. He waded up to his knees, whistling. Hanzo rested his head on Jesse’s shoulder, singing low in his throat, matching Jesse’s pitch perfectly. 

“Well, it appears this is as far as I’m willin to take ya,” Jesse said. Hanzo sighed dramatically. 

“Hey honey, how much do ya love me?” Jesse asked. Hanzo lifted his head, squinting at Jesse in confusion. In answer, Jesse dropped Hanzo unceremoniously into the water. Hanzo surfaced, spluttering and spitting mad. Jesse burst into laughter at his expression, but not for long. He felt a hand around his ankle, and before he could so much as yell, his feet were knocked out from underneath him. 

“Fool, don’t trick a mermaid if you want to live,” Hanzo said affectionately, drawing Jesse close to him. Jesse squinted at the creature holding him close. He arched his eyebrow up at Hanzo, trying to pass the message along that he felt it was perfectly reasonable to have done such a thing. 

“Jesse,” Hanzo sighed, and pulled him back to the surface. 

“Jesse what now?” Jesse asked, rubbing his eyes to get the salt water out of them. Hanzo pointed patiently at his hat, which had rolled up onto the beach. 

“Shit, I gotta go get that,” Jesse said, getting to his feet. He ran back onto the beach and snatched it up. He turned back to Hanzo and raised his arm in farewell. The merman waved back briefly, before plunging back into the water. 

Jesse kicked a shell, unable to wipe the foolish smile off of his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah!!! this was a breath of fresh air to write. Tragically though, this is just the calm before the storm. ;) There might be a second chapter this weekend, there might not. Depends on my ambitions!
> 
> As always, thank you so SO much for reading and commenting! We're almost there!!


	8. Chapter 8

Genji pressed his hand against the rock, steadying himself as the waves crashed over his head. The skies above was a deep shade of grey, the promise of a thunderstorm flickering far in the distance. He absolutely loved watching the storms roll in. He pulled himself higher on the rock, just out of reach of the waves below. Seagulls screamed far above, wheeling through the air as they watched him with their beady eyes. Genji paid them no mind, scooping up a flat stone hidden in a niche of the rock face. 

He began to clean his tail with the stone, thrumming an old song he knew by instinct. It was one of the only times he got alone from the others, and no small storm was going to keep him from it. Genji felt something plop onto the top of his head. He froze. There was no way that just happened. Slowly he lifted his hand and ran his fingers through his hair, and shrieked in disgust as he came across seagull shit in his hair. He shook his hand out rapidly until the white substance was off of his fingers. Genji shot a glare upwards, but the birds had gone by then. Maybe they remembered the time he ate their eggs. It wasn’t his fault they thought it smart to nest so close to the ocean; the waves would’ve washed the eggs away anyways. At least they had gone to good use. 

Grudgingly, Genji slipped back into the water. He ruffled his hair out in the choppy waves, until the residue was out of his hair at last. Genji clasped the stone in his hand as he scrambled back onto his perch. He checked twice more for any suspicious looking seagulls, but they hadn’t returned. He returned to his work, until even in the limited light his scales shone faintly. He spotted a small bald patch right beside his hip bone. Genji ran a finger over the exposed skin, wincing a little at the flash of pain. Mermaid’s tended to shed scales from time to time, especially if they had scraped up against something. Genji glanced at the rough rocks around him. Well, that would make sense. He hid his stone in its niche once more before diving into the ocean.

Genji had his beauty routines, that was a given. But he was also meeting up with a certain pair of marine biologists just outside of the merfolk’s territory, and he was always the kind to dress to impress. He plunged through the water, staying just yards underneath the surface. He flipped on his back to watch the water rise and fall above him. Genji wondered if he would have to rescue Angela and Satya if their boat capsized. That wouldn’t be too bad. Genji had a bit of a hero complex when it came to impressing the two girls. He came to the meeting place, just a couple miles out from the beach. He searched around for half an hour, disappointment seeping in little by little when their danky looking boat was not on the horizon. Lightning crashed above, and the heavens poured. Genji turned away from the surface with a disappointed flick of his tail, trudging his way back home. 

Hanzo raced to meet him the second he came within range. Genji backed away on instinct alone; sometimes his brother just decided to pick a fight for the sake of a fight. Not that Genji was anymore innocent--a good brawl was a good brawl. But he was  _ moping  _ at the moment. Hanzo clasped his brothers shoulders and spun them around in a circle, smiling widely.

“Did you find a rainbow tuna?” Genji blurted out, shocked by his brothers attitude. 

“No, but I tried honey for the first time, and Jesse and I kissed and it was like eating the fattest sea urchin in all the seven seas,” Hanzo burst out, letting go of his brother. Genji frowned a little, wondering what on earth he was talking about. Then he remembered braiding Hanzo’s hair the night before, helping him turn it into an elaborate braid.

“Oh! Your date with Jesse? Are you two mates now?” Genji asked. Hanzo blushed, shaking his head. He pulled a bit of his hair from the current and threaded it through his finger, twirling it up and untwirling it over and over, a clear sign that he was nervous.

“I gotta say, I’ve never seen you this flustered around anyone else before,” Genji teased.

“That’s because he isn’t my mate. I mean. I thought about asking. But then he gave me some honey and he ate the sea urchin, and then, well,” Hanzo huffed a wistful sigh. Genji wrinkled his nose.

“Gross,” he said.

“No! Not like that!” Hanzo said, crests flaring up in shock. Genji burst into laughter, shaking his head.

“Seriously, I don’t wanna know what you get up to with him, it’s your business,” Genji said. Hanzo relaxed, pouting a little. Genji raised his eyebrows. Hanzo frowned even more. With a groan, Genji relinquished. 

“Okay, okay, tell me about your date,” Genji said, sitting himself on the ocean floor. He crossed his arms politely. Hanzo glared at him for a moment, apparently trying to see if his brother was teasing him or not. Finally Hanzo broke into a soft smile. 

Hanzo spent forever going into detail. He rambled for a long time about how nice it was to sit under the moon with Jesse. What it was like to feel safe with someone else for the first time in his life, the exact taste of honey. It made Genji’s teeth rot with how sickly sweet he was being. He laid back on the floor beside Genji, gazing up through the murky depths. He glowed softly, the only source of light as brief pulses of light managed to strike through the darkness. 

“How do you know you’re in love with someone?” Hanzo asked finally. Genji sighed, tilting his head to the side. 

“I imagine it’s a lot like what seaweed tastes like, but in your chest,” Genji said. He hadn’t given much thought to the concept of love. Whatever mermaids he had met didn’t want anything to do with him, and he was just fine with that. 

“I do not feel like seaweed is in my chest when I think of Jesse,” Hanzo said gravely. Genji stifled a laugh. 

“No, no. It’s probably a lot like sea urchins, except not near as prickly and hard to get at,” Genji said. Although if he had to give a food to Hanzo’s sort of love, a prickly sea creature would be up there. 

“What did you do today, Genji?” Hanzo asked, glancing over at him. Genji stuck his tongue out at Hanzo. He was tempted to say that he didn’t have to be polite for his sake, but he loved complaining too.

“I didn’t get to see my friends today,” Genji admitted, frowning. He picked absently at the bare patch of skin, watching the scales flake away in the current. He was too sad to really care about his beauty at the moment; he had finally found somewhere where he belonged outside of his brother, and now they might not even care about him anymore. 

“Genji, humans are notoriously finicky when it comes to weather like this,” Hanzo said reassuringly.    
“I know, but you’re so busy with Jesse now, and all Tracer wants to talk about is Emily. It’s boring,” Genji said. He ignored the feeling of sadness welling up in his chest. Genji wanted his friends to be happy, and he was glad for Hanzo, but it also meant that they just weren’t going to be spending much time with him anymore. 

“Genji, are you jealous?” Hanzo asked gently. Genji scowled fiercely. He was  _ not  _ the jealous type.

“No, I just miss Angela and Satya is all,” He said quickly, which was true. What he didn’t want to admit was that he wished he had someone just like them to keep him company. He dug the edge of his nail against a scale, flicking it away. It spun away lazily, finally catching Hanzo’s eye.

“Hey now, don’t go plucking your scales,” Hanzo said, sitting up. Genji drew his hand away, biting his lip. 

“I don’t pluck my scales. I have a bare patch anyway and it’s bothering me,” Genji admitted. 

“Does it hurt?” Hanzo asked, reaching out. Genji shifted away, hissing at his brother in annoyance. 

“I’m not freshly hatched, I can take care of myself,” He complained. 

“I’m just worried about you. Remember what Orisa said,” Hanzo said. 

Genji rolled his eyes. Yes, he remembered what Orisa had said about the wasting illness. It had been interesting to hear about; given that none of them had seen a mermaid alive with the sickness before. Usually it started out with small patches of scales falling out, and then blisters would form. Before long the blisters would spread until the entire tail was a mass of burnt flesh, an agonizing end to any merperson. 

Genji had only scraped himself on a rock. And was plucking his scales out of stress. All explainable things in his book. 

“If it gets worse, let Angela check it out. Maybe the humans will know exactly what it is,” Hanzo suggested.

“Oh, sure, they know plenty about merfolk anatomy,” Genji replied, rolling his eyes. 

“Genji,” Hanzo warned, using that exact tone of voice that provoked no further argument. 

“Fine, fine. But don’t worry about it, really. You should be worrying about your new mate,” Genji teased. Hanzo swatted at him to get him to shut up, and Genji twisted away laughing. They fell into a mock fight, kicking up fistfuls of sand as they rolled about, throwing punches and clawing at each other’s faces. At last Hanzo pulled away, panting as he brushed his hair back from his face.

“I need to be patrolling by now, Amelie will be waiting,” Hanzo said. 

“Eugh, you’re no fun,” Genji whined. Hanzo scoffed at his brother. 

“You wonder why Zarya doesn’t assign you to any patrols. It’s because you’d rather mess around than actually protect the pod,” Hanzo said flatly. 

“Oh, let’s go over my shortcomings later, when I’m rested,” Genji said, and tossed a fistful of sand into Hanzo’s face for good measure. His brother swam away, calling back a carefully aimed insult as he went.

 

Genji was definitely shedding scales. More than a mere rock could do to him. He had been fine for the next few days; only Hanzo really knew about it, and he just pestered him to stop picking at his tail. 

“Genji, pay attention,” Efi complained. Genji snapped his head up. Efi held up the three metal rods wrapped around a metal pole, twisting the trident this way and that so it caught the light. 

“What do you need me to do?” He asked. 

“I need you to test it out,” Efi said, extending the weapon out to him. Genji took it gingerly, examining the prototype. It was tied together with some rope from a wreck that Orisa had found just the other day. He jabbed with it in the water, feeling stupid.

“So what’s the exact purpose?” Genji asked. 

“You guys didn’t really like the method of reaching in and killing fish with your hands in the net. So I made this to stab them, making it a lot more efficient  _ and  _ keeping your hands free,” Efi explained patiently. Genji nodded. So he just...had to jab it at fish. Cool. 

“Amelie and Hanzo should be back any moment with the kill, be ready to try it out,” Efi said, lacing and unlacing her fingers over and over again. Genji hid his smile; Efi almost never admitted when she was nervous about a prototype failing, but he had learned to pick up on the signs. 

“It’s going to work just fine Efi, so fine that Zarya is going to ask you to make some that she can strap to her fists so she can punch kill any shark,” Genji said, making Efi laugh. 

“I’m sure it would go with her shark teeth beautifully,” Efi said brightly. 

They quieted down, waiting for the hunters to arrive back. Genji absently picked at his scales. Efi glanced over, and gasped softly. 

“ _ Genji,  _ how long have you been shedding for?” She whispered, eyes wide. Genji shrugged. 

“Just a few days, it’ll pass,” He said coolly. 

“Oh, no no no, Genji, this isn’t good at all,” Efi said. She broke off into another language, muttering to herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I need to speak to Orisa. If you’ll excuse me,” She said abruptly. With that, she was gone, leaving Genji feeling rather stupid with the large metal fork. He was tempted to throw it down, and just kill the fish the old fashioned way. But still he held the trident up until Hanzo and Widowmaker trudged the kill back. 

“Efi wants me to stab some fish?” He said. The two of them shrugged. Widowmaker, to her immense credit, did not look annoyed at one of the suggestions Efi had made for the first time in her life. 

Genji thrust the end of the trident into the net with all his strength. Blood blossomed into the water, and the fish writhed desperately to get away. Genji wrenched the trident out, pulling a fish off the rods before plunging the trident back in. It was a complete hack job that left everyone quite panicked. 

“I love Efi to death but…” Genji began.

“This is just a massacre,” Hanzo agreed. Genji staked the trident into the sand and reached into the bag, grabbing whatever fish that were still alive amongst their speared brethren, and ripped their heads off.

“Sometimes the old fashioned way is the only way,” Widowmaker said. She glanced over Genji’s shoulder, a hard frown appearing on her face. 

“What is it?” Genji asked, craning his head to look over his shoulder. Orisa and Mei were swimming towards them, with Efi trailing just behind. He could sense just how tense all of them were, and turned back to the other two for help.

“Whatever, I’m out,” Widowmaker said, and swam away. Genji shared a concerned look with Hanzo.

“You didn’t steal Mei’s jewelry again did you?” Hanzo asked. 

“No! Zarya put the fear of death into me once already, I’ll never do it again,” Genji said. Hanzo snorted.

“You mock my pain,” Genji said dramatically. 

“Genji! How long have you been shedding scales?” Orisa demanded. Genji made a face. What, did he not deserve a hello?

“Just a week, it’s not a big deal,” He said. 

“You need to be honest with us, does it hurt?” Mei put in. Genji studied Mei wearily, waiting for some sort of trap. Some part of him worried that they would kick him out, to keep anyone else from becoming sick. 

“It started the same way with my brother, I know it,” Efi said, moving past Orisa to be in the front.

“I’ve never had it before, and I won’t get it now,” Genji said. He glanced at Hanzo, getting no sense of comfort from his brother either. 

“Genji, I think we need to go to Angela about this,” Hanzo said carefully. 

“Angela?” Mei asked. Genji blanched. Oh fuck. 

“Angela is a human. We have been….communicating with the humans of late,” Hanzo said stiffly. Mei squinted at the two of them. 

“You’re lucky Zarya isn’t around,” Mei said. “I know how interesting humans can be, I’ve befriended several myself.” 

“Nuh uh,” Genji burst out. Mei was the perfect example of what a good mermaid was. Kind, sweet, with a gnarly right hook. He figured she had never given humans a second thought.

“Before Zarya and I made the pod, I spent a lot of time in the north pole after I fled the river of my youth. There wasn’t anywhere else for me to go, so I wandered. I miss the taste of seal, there’s nothing like it,” 

“There was an expedition of humans on the remaining polar caps. I remember the first time I crashed into Winston. He fell into the water and I had to save his life,” Mei stifled a laugh. She lifted her arm and pointed to a knotted scar on her forearm. They leaned inwards, running a finger over the puckered flesh. Genji wondered why he had never noticed it before. Mei, it seemed, was full of surprises.

“They wanted to study me. They had never met a merfolk before. Naturally I agreed, because they let me study them too. So they gave me a tracker, and I gave them a seal bone to complete the agreement. For months on end I would meet them on the cusp of the ice, where we would debrief on what history there was on humanity and our kind,” Mei said. 

“For a long time, everything went perfectly. Until one of the men got greedy. He was a part of the Talon organization, the kind that specialized in unusual breeds. He attempted to lure me in, drugging me. If it weren’t for Winston, I would be dead,” Mei shivered. 

“He almost died for me, I’ll never forget that. He ripped the tracker out of my forearm, and I bled horribly, as there was no time for him to sew it up. It was a good thing he didn’t, because Zarya found me from all the blood in the water. I’ll never forget her face of pure rage when she discovered a human had done this to me,” Mei said. 

“What does this have to do with us talking to the humans?” Genji asked.

“Winston was studying the effects of the wasting illness, he was the only one who took me seriously when I mentioned the disease. If you have any chance of living Genji, it’s through him,” Mei said. 

“We need to speak to Angela and Satya, they’re the kind to know this Winston,” Hanzo said. Genji bit his lip. They could always try the meeting spot again, but they hadn’t exactly appeared over the past few days either. 

“I would like to speak with these humans, if I may,” Mei said politely. 

“It would be an honor,” Genji said. He could imagine their excitement at the prospect of meeting a real life matriarch. 

“Efi and I will stay behind to guard the area, and keep Zarya distracted,” Orisa said.

“What? No! I want to go with Genji,” Efi burst out, she grabbed Genji’s arm, pulling herself close to him. 

“Efi, you’re not ready to speak to any humans yet,” She said.

“Genji’s sick! He’s my friend and I want to be there for him,” Efi burst out. Genji glanced at Hanzo, shocked. Hanzo only shrugged. 

“You did let Efi take your favorite bangles,” Hanzo pointed out. 

“Efi,” Orisa sighed.

“Hey, listen. I’ll be back in a little bit, yeah? And they’re probably going to be taking bits of my teeth and hair anyways. That stuff is scary. But if you make me a little present for when I get back, I’ll have something to look forward to,” Genji said, gently releasing Efi’s grip on his arm. Efi rubbed at her eyes fiercely with the palms of her hands.

“You’ll be coming back. Promise?” She asked.

“It’s not even a promise, I won’t be going anywhere,” Genji assured her. 

“Don’t worry Efi, my dumb brother will have me to protect him,” Hanzo said, slugging Genji in the shoulder affectionately. Efi managed a weak smile. 

“Okay, I’ll make something for Genji. Promise,” She went back over to Orisa, and taking her hand the two of them swam away.

“Well, that settles that. No getting eaten by sharks Genji, or you’ll be breaking Efi’s heart,” Mei said. Genji rolled his eyes.

“I’ll try not to,” He said. “Come on then.” 

Genji led them to the familiar old spot. He was relieved to catch sight of the worn out boat underneath, and turned to Mei.

“Let me give them some warning that you’re coming. They’ll be very excited to meet a matriarch such as yourself,” Genji said.

“That won't be necessary, honestly Genji, it’s Zarya who enjoys the honorifics, not me,” Mei said, and tore off before they could quite work around what she just said. The two brothers only managed a shrug towards each other before they followed suit. 

Genji threw himself out of the water and caught the cusp of the boat. He pulled himself onto the ledge, hissing in pain as his bare skin brushed against the sun warmed metal. Satya twisted around and waved to him briefly, before turning back to Mei. Mei commanded both of the girls attention, signing to them rapidly. Genji hardly noticed Hanzo jump onto the boat beside him.

“I suppose it makes sense Mei would know sign language,” Hanzo whispered. Genji shrugged. 

“Next she’s going to be telling us that Zarya saves seal pups,” He whispered back. Hanzo laughed.

“Hanzo, Genji, pay attention,” Mei called. The two brothers snapped to attention. Their matriarch returned her attention to the two humans, taking a deep breath.

‘If Genji has become ill, there is no hope for the rest of us. We are a part of a dying breed. But that does not mean our children must suffer the same fate. There is another human that knows of us, he goes by the name of Winston. He was part of the last expedition to the remaining ice caps in the north pole. He’s studied this illness extensively. He may have found the cure by now. Find him and tell him that I need his help,’ Mei signed. Her argument broached no argument.

“I’ll try and find Winston’s contact information, if you can get some of Genji’s blood,” Angela said to Satya.

“Of course,” Satya said, heading right for a cooler towards the back of the boat. She pulled out a syringe and several other objects. Genji watched her wearily. He was not a baby. But he preferred his blood to be on the inside of him. 

“It’ll pinch a bit, I promise it won't be for long,” Satya said, crouching beside Genji. She set up the syringe, swabbing the inside of Genji’s arm with a wipe. Genji watched her jab the needle in. He watched his blood seep into the container, ignoring the pinching in his arm. All Genji could hope for at this point was a miracle by a man by the name of Winston. 

“We’ll take care of you,” Satya said softly, resting a hand on Genji’s shoulder. She drew her hand away a second later, using a wipe to clean her hands. She busied herself in putting away the blood in another cooler, disposing of the wrappers as well. He tilted his head to the side.

‘If it’s too much trouble, finding this man, it’ll be okay,’ He signed.

“Genji, you’re our friend, of course we’ll help you as much as we can,” Satya said. 

‘Thank you,’ Genji signed. She smiled shyly at him, averting her eyes as she went over to Angela, who was tapping away at her phone rapidly. 

At last she pressed the phone to her ear, and she turned from the group as she spoke rapidly to someone on the other line. Several times she turned to squint at Mei, to the point of describing a large blotch of pink towards the tip of Mei’s tail. She seemed to persuade whomever she was speaking too, and she turned off the phone.

“He’s going to fly down tonight. He wants to meet all four of us and talk about what we can do. Genji, if it’s alright with you, we’re going to need to take some of the exposed skin as well,” Angela said. Genji scrunched up his face. He would very much not prefer to lose any  _ skin  _ but if it would make him feel better…

 

Genji was very much relieved to be back in the water and away from the two women. Hanzo gave him a pitying look. It didn't help things that Hanzo had to hold him down while they took the skin sample. He had tried to put on a brave face about it, but it was pure agony, and he nearly punched Angela in the face when she had tried it. 

“Hey, at least you’ll get to see what Efi made you,” Hanzo suggested.

“What I want is a bunch of seaweed and a long nap. Also for my scales to come back,” Genji said glumly. 

“I know, it’ll be okay,” Hanzo said. 

“I certainly hope so,” Genji replied. He spotted Efi racing towards them, and put on a brave face. 

“I made you a necklace of seashells,” Efi said, holding it out to him. Genji took it from her. Seashells were definitely not his style.

“I love them,” He told her, just to see her smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! My internet has been out due to storms, and also this chapter has a lot of info I needed to get through for the final arc. Poor Genji though!!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading. Your comments are what keep me going. <3 <3


	9. Chapter 9

Jesse rested his head on the steering wheel. Carly Rae Jepson blasted through the speakers, just loud enough to add to his headache. When they had started out that morning to go and collect Winston from the airport, he hadn’t expected to be waiting twenty minutes for Emily to get out of the house.

“There she is!” Angela burst out, knocking Jesse in the shoulder to get his attention. He craned his head past the excited blonde. Emily paused at the front door of her house, taking time to lock it up. She had about three bags on her, dwarfing her as she hid her house keys in the hanging plant just beside her door. 

“Ain’t gonna be any room for that shit,” Jesse grumbled. He needed a cigarette. He also couldn’t afford cigarettes. 

“Oh, shush. You get to drive,” Angela pointed out, as if that was an honor. She jumped out of the car to go help Emily, shouting for Jesse to pop the trunk. Jesse placed his forehead back on the top of the steering wheel and groaned loudly. He knew he shouldn't complain. When the three of them found out about his homelessness situation, they had insisted he sleep on the couch at Angela’s. Jesse was immensely thankful towards their kindness, but if he had to listen to one more ‘how do you think it goes, with those tiny little bows?’ he was going to break Angela’s phone. 

The music cut off suddenly, and Jesse sat up. Satya handed the aux cord to him from the backseat. 

“I can’t stand her stuff either,” Satya said softly, and winked at jesse. 

“You’re an angel, Satya,” Jesse said sincerely, digging his phone out of his jeans. He flicked through his playlist, until he found John Denver’s entire discography. He tilted his hat back and let out a loud  _ yeehaw!  _ as the first twangs played through the speakers. 

“Oh god,” Satya said.

“Woo-wee, now that’s what I call a song!” Jesse said, turning the music up. He placed his phone on the dashboard, as far from Satya as possible. He felt a thump at the back of the chair, most likely from Satya thumping her head against the seat. He tilted his hat further back on his head and revved the engine. Emily got in the back, saying something that made Satya laugh. Angela got in the front, squinting her face as the music. 

“Driver gets ta pick the music,” He said, grinning sloppily at her. Angela rolled her eyes and turned down the music a little. 

“Satya’s sensitive to loud noises,” Angela said, looking smug.

“I always abide by a ladies requests,” Jesse said, tilting his hat to her. 

“Sooo can we change the music?” Emily piped up in the back. 

“Sorry darlin’, southern chivalry only goes so far,” Jesse said brightly, peeling out of the parking spot and onto the road. Angela sulked in the front seat until they got onto the freeway. Jesse gunned it from the get go, weaving around cars with ease. He turned down the music some more, so they could talk.

“So uh, when is this doctor fella gettin’ in?” He asked. Angela glanced up from her phone. 

“He should be landing in another twenty minutes. He said he’d be at the front of the airport, ready to go,” Angela said.

“An’ we trust him because…” Jesse said. 

“Well, I looked him up. Winston was part of the final crew that explored the north pole as a marine biologist. I think Satya and I actually sat in on one of his lectures now and again,” Angela said. 

“You mean we got rip-roaring drunk with the guy,” Satya said, leaning on the center console.

“An’ here I was, thinkin’ the scientific community is just a bunch of nerds. Ya’ll partied hard didn’t cha?” Jesse asked. 

“We did not  _ party, _ ” Satya said.

“One time Satya started crying on the floor of a waffle house because she realized she would never be the Stephen Hawking of marine biology,” Angela said. 

“Hey! I held your hair back while you threw up all in a tide pool in the galapagos because you were still hungover,” Satya said. 

“Yeah, and my vomit could’ve ruined that entire ecosystem,” Angela groaned, sliding down in her seat. 

“I’m sure the hermit crabs survived,” Satya said, rolling her eyes. 

“Any drinkin’ stories from you, emily?” Jesse asked, glancing through the rearview mirror. Emily glared at him. Evidently she was hoping that she could get away with saying nothing at all. 

“Uhm. Well. One time before my medical exam I cradled my dog and cried for hours. I had to keep him safe,” Emily said shyly. Jesse kept his eyes expertly trained on the road.

“Aww Emily, one time I cried because I dropped my favorite nail polish all over my apartment floor,” Angela said. 

“And I cry sometimes when kids have squeaky shoes. They just get right to me,” Satya added in. There was an awkward pause where Jesse was supposed to say something along the lines of ‘I cried after seeing the princess bride for the fifth time because I wanted to have a romance just like Buttercup and Westley.’ which definitely did not occur. 

“Shit, y’all stories are tame compared to mine,” Jesse said, to break the tension.

“Oh, did you go cow tippin’ or somethin’, pardner?” Angela asked, putting on a fake southern drawl. Jesse rolled his eyes.

“Nah. That’s teenage stuff. But I did steal several cattle back in the day, my friend dared me to do it,” Jesse said offhandedly. 

“Oh, this I gotta know. A cattle rustler? You’re like one of those cowboys in the old western films,” Satya said. 

“So it was just me an’ my buddy Joel Clay--I called him JC--shootin’ the shit an’ drinkin’ a bottle of whiskey between the two of us. I’m not sure how it came up, see we talked a big game for what we really were, but the whiskey went to my head an’ one thing led to another.

“He said I for sure couldn’t steal a couple of cattle from his Papa Guy’s herd, given that he’d shoot me dead before I could load ‘em up. Evidently I wasn’t gonna take that kinda insult sittin’ down. So I took his truck an’ trailer, come to speak of it I think we shoulda been pulled over for drunk drivin’, but anyhow we’re drivin’ down the interstate an’ JC is throwin’ himself out the window hollerin’ about how we’re the real cowboys of the west. Lord knows how Papa Guy didn’t hear us comin’ from a mile away.

“So we get out there, an JC is doin’ this odd little  _ woop  _ to call the cattle over, ‘cept we got into the wrong pasture, an’ forty or so sheep came barrelin’ down on us. We had just cut the wire to the fence too, an’ there wasn’t shit we could do to get ‘em to stop when they thought it was feedin’ time so I just got in the truck an’ blared the horn, flashin’ my lights over an’ over until the sheep thought God himself was comin’ over that fence to bring them to the reckonin’. JC wanted to go home after that, seein’ he was gonna be in deep shit for almost losin’ his Papa’s sheep herd, but I wanted to rustle some goddamn cattle first. 

“So we get to the right pasture, by sheer providence alone I don’t know, but there we were. In the moonlight. Blackout drunk, among these massive heifers who are lookin’ at us with these glassy old eyes like a bunch of nurse home ladies woken up for a fire. JC stuck himself in the car, he wasn’t gonna get in trouble no more, so I had to cut the fence myself an’ drop the trailer door. Here’s the kicker though, those cattle just waltzed right into that trailer like I was the pied piper. JC couldn’t believe it.

“Anyhow, I got my twenty bucks, an’ I returned the cattle sometime the next day. Papa Guy wasnt too mad, he cackled when he heard about the sheep spectacle. Good man. Think he died from a rattlesnake bite,” Jesse said. 

“Oh my god, you really are a real life cowboy,” Emily said. 

“Thank ya,” Jesse said, winking at her.

“More like a cattle rustler to me,” Satya pointed out.

“I ain’t a cattle rustler. It was one time an’ I returned them anyhow,” Jesse said defensively. “Cattle rustlin’ ain’t a joke. Farmers lose a grand an’ a half per head,” 

“I don’t know what you just said but it sounded like an experienced cattle rustler to me,” Angela teased. 

“Pssh, you’re just tryina rile me up,” Jesse said. 

“The exit is right there,” Angela said, pointing right ahead. Jesse took the exit, breezing right through a stop light and into the other lane just to make the others scream in terror.

Ah, what it was like to have friends.

Jesse pulled into the airport. Angela rested her hand on the dashboard, craning her head as she searched the crowds at the entrance for Winston. Emily rolled down her window in the back and leaned out. Jesse wondered why on earth she needed three bags for a four hour long car ride. He would never understand Emily. Satya sat in the back, fidgeting with a small cube as she looked past Emily anxiously. 

“There he is!” Angela shouted, smacking the dashboard. She pointed to the tallest man in the entire crowd, which was saying something as he was hunched over, reading a map. He pushed the glasses up on his nose nervously, not seeing them yet as he glanced up and down the row of cars. Jesse pulled ahead of a coupe, ignoring the angry driver as he waved to Winston. The man spotted Angela at last, and then Jesse. Angela hopped out to run over to pick up his bags, which left Winston looking mildly stressed out as he shuffled over to the car.

“I hope you don’t terribly mind if I sit in the front, Doctor Ziegler, I’m afraid I would be none to comfortable in the backseat,” Winston said, getting in the front even as he spoke. 

“It’s nothing at all, Doctor Winston!” Angela said brightly. 

“Please, just Professor Winston will do. I’m not too keen on the ah, particulars of honorifics,” Winston said, adjusting his glasses once more as he studied the map in front of him.

“Ya don’t have google maps on your phone?” Jesse said, feeling quite put out by how he looked in comparison to this genius sitting beside him. 

“Well yes, I do. But I prefer paper copies. Feels more solid. I travel a lot for conferences you know, and sometimes I would wake up and not even know where I was. So a solution I found was picking up a physical map of the city I’m in,” Winston said.

Jesse squinted at him. Was this guy for real? 

“Excuse my interruption Professor Winston, but weren’t you just at a conference in the Cape of Africa two days ago?” Satya said, sitting forward in her seat. Winston twisted in his seat, smacking Jesse in the face with the map on accident in his haste to shake Satya’s hand and get her proper title. 

“You would be outmost correct, Doctor Vaswani. I actually had to cut my talk short. The global community is in extreme distress concerning the ocean’s acidity levels. I’m afraid my talks are a little too late to help fix things, but we can always help return the ocean to its natural state one day.” Winston said earnestly. Jesse tried to ignore the fact that Satya was actually  _ swooning.  _

“Hey Jesse, we’re going to be heading towards the research institute in Albuquerque, the directions are on my phone,” She passed her phone up to him, which had the tacky dolphin keychain he had given her dangling off of one side. 

“Hang on now,” Jesse began.

“Yeah?” Angela asked. 

“When in sam hell did we decide to road trip to Albuquerque?” Jesse asked. 

“Uhm, in the group chat?” Emily said faintly. 

“Ya’ll, I muted that days ago,” Jesse said, resting his head on the steering wheel.

“Oh. Uhm. D’you want us to...have you go home and-” Angela began.

“Nah, it’s good, it’s good, never been before,” Jesse said, forcefully bright. Well, this wasn’t going to be a simple matter of wrangling cattle, but at least he had figured out the reason why Emily had brought a bunch of bags with her. 

 

Jesse shuffled towards the research center, feeling dead on his feet. Angela raced ahead to unlock the doors, while Emily and Satya carried in the cooler that carried the blood samples from Genji. Winston followed behind, carrying everyone’s bags.

“One trip kind of guy, huh?” Jesse called back, grinning crookedly. 

“Ah, well, I figure you know, the faster we’re in the better it is,” Winston rambled, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. Winston was quite the rambler. In fact, he had stayed up the entire ride to Albuquerque, going into depth on his research with Jesse. If Jesse had to hear one more word about how the bleaching of the great barrier reef was the turning point for humanity’s loss, he was going to scream. 

“Hmm,” Jesse grunted, and held the door open for Winston, who was eternally grateful. Jesse followed the three scientists and nurse into the bowels of the center, past countless empty labs and lecture rooms. Jesse wondered how Hanzo was doing. How Genji was doing. He hoped that they would be able to help them before anything else went wrong. Jesse figured that Hanzo would be waiting for him down at the beach, even though they had cleared it up that he would be gone for most of the day. A pang of guilt hit him. If only merpeople had cell phones, then he could call and clear up the whole misunderstanding. 

He followed the four others into a lab at the back of the building, which consisted of the necessary equipment for whatever they needed to do. Jesse sat in the back, reclining in a chair as he watched them shuffle back and forth, chattering excitedly to each other. He fiddled with the locket that held Hanzo’s scales, wishing he was back with him. 

Jesse was startled out of his reverie by Winston plopping himself down beside him. The large man cracked his knuckles nervously as Jesse sat up. He took his hat off, setting it on the counter.

“Somethin’ on your mind?” Jesse asked.

“Don’t tell the others but...it’s not good. There’s just nothing we can do to help them. The acid is just corroding away at their scales until they atrophy and fall off, at which point the flesh quickly follows suit. The only way would be to. To well. I guess to ask them to give us their eggs, and we raise them in captivity,” Winston said quietly, just so that Jesse could only hear. Jesse looked up at the three women working tirelessly. He knew that they wanted to save the merfolk just as much as he did. 

And maybe it was a bit selfish. Jesse sure as hell knew he would give an arm and a leg to make sure Hanzo never had to atrophy. He brushed his hair out of his eyes.

“Hell, doc, it ain’t fair to keep it from them. When we’re on the same page, we’ll know what to do,” Jesse said. 

“Doctor Ziegler, Doctor Vaswani, Emily, I have some bad news,” Winston said, calling them over. He glanced at Jesse. Jesse squinted at him for a second, before realizing he was leaving him to explain it all. 

“The bad news is, we can’t save ‘em. They’re doomed. But we can save their kiddos, if they’re willing,” Jesse said flatly. 

“What do we do?” Emily asked.

“What we need to do, is to turn them into a tourist attraction. Garner the masses so that the government has to fund their stay in aquariums around the states. Now don’t get me wrong, they’re very intelligent. There will have to be guidelines and everything, but first we have to convince the world that there are merfolk,” Winston said. 

“We don’t exactly have access to cnn or fox, and I doubt the local news will even bother to cover it,” Satya said. 

“Hang on now, you’re tellin’ me you’re wantin’ to make them do flips an’ shit for the world’s amusement?” Jesse burst in. 

“No no! Of course not, we just need to prove to the world that they’re real,” Winston said.

“Hell, I got slashed up by one an’ they didn’t believe shit. I think we’ll get poachers on our hands before we can save anyone, I know one too,” Jesse said.

“Jesse, either way they will die. We just have to try while there’s the smallest chance of success,” Angela said.

“I’m glad you think the entire world is a bunch of happy go lucky folk, it’s not like they’re gonna be foamin’ at the bit to get a chunk of the last merfolk in the world,” Jesse snapped.

“Listen, we can do a small press release, make sure that it doesn’t go on any big media outlets. I’m willing to put my reputation on the line for these people. I’ll have to make some calls over course, and we’ll have to start driving back tonight. But we will make sure they’re safe until we can get the proper go ahead to transport their eggs to a facility,” Winston said.

“You know, I’m real glad you three think it’s okay to accept the fact that eight people are just going to die, and you don’t give a damn. At least in my profession, we would fucking try to solve the matter before we signed off on the death certificate,” Emily snapped. 

“This isn’t something we can just fix, Emily. It’s a slow buildup in their entire system--” Angela began.

“Angela, all you care about is being the person who turns the world on its head with your discoveries. Even if it leaves behind a pile of bodies,” Emily said, shaking visibly as she stormed out of the room. 

There was an awkward pause in the room. Jesse glowered at the scientists, waiting for them to insult Emily. At last, Winston cleared his throat. 

“We’ll need to start now, from my research, the illness is aggressive, and when one gets it, it's a matter of weeks before the others do as well,” Winston said, pulling out his phone and tapping furiously away. 

“I’ll start making calls too. The community will want to hear about the find of the century,” Angela said, moving away to make calls as well. She seemed unphased by Emily’s outburst. Jesse glared after her. He wondered if she was used to this sort of thing. How ruthless she really was. 

“I’ll finish culturing Genji’s blood, that’ll be proof enough for the nonbelievers until we can get them to meet the merfolk in person,” Satya said, peeling away to return to the machines. 

Jesse picked up his hat. “I’ll be, yknow, comforting our friend out in the hall,” He said dryly. Damn them.

Emily hadn’t gone far from the room, just a few yards down where she had faltered right across from a display case of taxidermied crustaceans. He headed over, making sure to make as much noise as possible to herald his arrival. She kept her head down, crying into her arms.  

“Hey now, are ya worried about Tracer?” He asked, leaning against the wall beside her. Emily nodded her head jerkily, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

“I-I just figured that, you know, it wouldn’t get her. But now one of the world’s biggest marine biologists is saying it’s a matter of weeks and-” Emily broke into loud sobbing, stifled only by her hands. Jesse hesitated for a moment, before sliding down the wall until he sat beside her.

“It’s like you don’t even care about Hanzo. You were in there just now, talking about him as if he was already dead,” Emily said, bursting into fresh sobs. 

“Don’t you ever say that again,” Jesse said. “Don’t presume to think I’m some, some goddamn white coat bastard who see’s this as another step in the career ladder. Y’know what I keep thinkin’? Even after he’s gone, I’m gonna have to look in the mirror, every goddamn day, an’ see the scars he left me on my face.”

“S-sorry,” Emily managed, after a moment. Jesse placed his hat on, angling it just so his eyes were hidden.

“S’alright. I am worried about Hanzo, you haveta believe me,” He said. Jesse tilted his head up to study the taxidermied sea urchin in the display case across the way. He couldn’t help but think of picking up some sea urchins to treat Hanzo with when he got back, forgetting the fact no market sold sea urchins. They would eat themselves sick on the stuff, and then Jesse would tell him, he would tell him that they were doomed and they would die, but maybe their kids could live…

Jesse rubbed at an eye. 

“Emily, I never imagined my life woulda ended up like this, an’ here I am, gettin’ my heart broken over a merman who ruined my good looks,” He said. Emily sniffled, managing a weak laugh at Jesse’s dramatics. 

“But y’know, I’m gonna miss him. Hanzo is...I’ve never met anyone quite like him. It’ll be like losing part of myself when-- _ if  _ he goes. He is the single right thing I’ve ever done in my life so far, an’ I successfully wrangled cattle,” Jesse said. 

“It-it’s just that, it’s despicable what they’re suggesting. These merpeople aren’t stupid. I’ve been teaching Tracer how to write, and she’s excellent at it,” Emily said. 

“Feels kinda wrong, doesn’t it? The entire world, tunin’ in for the last merfolk to die,” Jesse sighed. 

“At least their kids will live, but what kind of existence is that? It’ll be like blackfish all over, except worse. They’ll turn them into tourist attractions,” Emily said. 

“Not if we fight for them. We have to try, because no one else will,” Jesse said. Emily nodded, wrapping her arms around him. He remained staring at the display case. He didn’t know where to start to protect Hanzo’s kids. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to let a bunch of politicians decide for them. 


	10. Chapter 10

Tracer chewed on her thumbnail, sidling closer to Hanzo as they watched the boats far above. Whatever the humans were talking about, it was muffled underwater. Hanzo didn’t bother to move away. Instead he rested a hand on her shoulder as he craned his head upwards to stare at the boats above.

She still couldn’t quite get what Emily had said out of her head. She had warned her that these people were just in it for personal profit, they didn’t give a damn about the mermaids. Tracer had never seen her so agitated before in her life. Emily had even offered to carry her to her truck and let her live in her apartment's bathtub, whatever those two things were. Ultimately, Tracer told her that she had to stay behind. This was her pod after all; she couldn’t just up and leave   
them without helping them.

Tracer craned her head around Hanzo, where Zarya was sitting. Her face was a mask, like it always was when Mei wasn’t around. The matriarch turned her head, catching Tracer’s eye. She glowered at her for a moment, before offering a brief smile.

“No matter what happens today, we will have our answer,” Zarya said, crossing her arms over her chest. The shark teeth inlaid into her arms glinted darkly in the light blue waters. Tracer knew that if they tried anything fishy, Zarya would be there to protect Hanzo and her.

“That’s the signal,” Hanzo said dryly. A orange buoy fell into the water from the main   
boat. Tracer nodded and headed for the third boat on the outskirt. She dove out of the water, gripping the edge of the boat and landed skillfully on one of the available benches. She grinned at the ten or so men in khaki shorts and shirts. She was pleased to see them pressed up against the far wall. Someone shrieked from another boat. Tracer guessed that was the lucky boat who got Zarya.

“Everyone! They are not dangerous!” Angela shouted from her boat. Tracer hissed at the   
people in her boat. Sure, she wasn’t dangerous to  _ Angela. _

“This one hissed at us!” One of the men on the boat shouted to Angela. Tracer laughed.   
Humans were such anxious creatures. Angela didn’t bother to respond, steamrolling right into the crux of the entire issue to the people on her boat.   
“Hey now, Tracer ain’t the kind to be aggressive willy nilly. Give her some time,” Jesse said, moving from his spot at the head of the boat to sit beside Tracer. She snatched his   
cowboy hat from him and spun it in her hands, checking out the glittering objects on the front of it.

“Are they that curious?” one of the men asked, leaning forward. Tracer paid him no mind.

“They’re as smart and you an’ I, so there’s ought to be a natural inclination towards curiosity,” Jesse responded. Tracer studied the humans in front of her out of the corner of her eye. They had all slowly shifted from the wall of the boat, one by one.

“Doctor Winston’s studies had mentioned that they’re capable of communication through sign language, is this true?” A bespectacled man asked, shifting his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

‘Yes, I hear they’re quite good at sign language,’ Tracer signed, making a face at the man. Jesse chuckled, translating for her. Tracer placed his hat back on his head carefully. She couldn’t imagine Hanzo would be very happy seeing her messing with his mate’s hat.

“This is just phenomenal, and you’re telling me that you’re concerned about funding for their aquarium?” Another man asked. “I’m telling you, this is the safest investment we’ll ever see.”

Tracer glanced up, feeling Jesse stiffen beside her.

“They aren’t intended to be a tourist attraction,” Jesse said dryly.

“Oh! Of course not, that would never be my intention! It’ll be a way to educate the public actually, and with America as the only center of mermaids in the world, we can easily profit further down the road when we open up the merfolk integration program. The rest of the world deserves to experience these miracles of wonder,” The man rambled excitedly.

“The idea, if you pardon my boldness, is not to fuckin’ ship ‘em out around the world where they can be subjected to god knows what conditions just cause y’all need some sort of goddamn return for savin’ a species,” Jesse said.

“The professor- “He began.

“The  _ professor  _ intends to create a research center solely to protect an’ save a species on the brink of extinction. These are not pandas, these are highly intelligent people with a culture an’ background we hardly understand, an’ they’re bein’ ripped out of their homes due to our actions as a species,” Jesse said.

Tracer placed a hand on Jesse’s shoulder lightly. He stopped, rubbing his jaw as he waited for her to speak.

‘I do not want my children, or my children’s children locked away on land. The very idea of a merperson who does not know the sea as I do it something I can even begin to imagine.’

‘But it’s a necessary evil to give up the sea for another generation, I don’t know if the wasting illness will kill them no matter what. It may be in vain. But we have to try, it’s all we can do,’ Tracer said. She waited patiently for Jesse to finish reciting what she had said to the others.

“It makes it sorta difficult to maximize a profit when they’ve got an opinion,” Jesse said, crossing his arms over his chest. The man pursed his lips tightly, before turning away to talk to a small group of people.

‘I can kill them,’ Tracer signed. Jesse snorted, elbowing Tracer in the side.

“Nah, that’ll get ya on the extinction list before you can even blink twice,” Jesse said. Tracer hummed uncertainly.

‘Emily offered to let me live in her apartment,’ Tracer signed.

“Did she now? I take it you’re not the type to lay around an’ look pretty?” Jesse asked.

‘I had a feeling a bathtub was a bit smaller than she led on,’ Tracer said, puffing out her cheeks.

“It ain’t a good idea, it’s just she wants a good life for ya,” Jesse reached into his jeans pocket and lit a cigarette.

‘Did you ask Hanzo to live in your bathtub?’ Tracer asked.

“Hell no, he’d ‘probly electrocute himself pulling a hairdryer or somethin’ into the bathtub without unpluggin’ it first. Nah, he belongs here, with his brother and all of ya’ll,” He said.

‘Has he told you much about Genji?’ Tracer asked. She tried not to focus on the hairdryer comment. It sounded self-explanatory, but so did a otterpop, and there was no otter flavor or anything in the pop Emily had given her.

“Jus’ that he isn’t doin’ too well. I wish the big brains knew what to do about it, but all they figure is that we can prevent the rest of you gettin’ sick by takin’ you out of the ocean before any symptoms appear,” Jesse sighed.

‘He’s losing his tail,’ Tracer confessed. She picked at her nails absently, so she wouldn’t have to elaborate further. Jesse let out a low whistle.

“Shit, that’s gotta hurt somethin’ awful,” Jesse said. Tracer nodded. The pod had started sleeping further away. His screams didn’t help anyone with keeping a peace of mind. Hanzo stayed by his brother day in and day out though. It seemed that if anything, their bond had become closer than before. They were already an odd pair; Tracer had never met anyone who had stuck with their sibling through thick and thin, but here they were. And soon Hanzo would be all alone. Tracer placed a hand to her mouth, stifling the low keening in her throat. She didn’t need to start wailing right now. That would be for afterwards, when there was no help left.

“I’m sorry, if only there was somethin’ I could do to help him,” Jesse said, kicking his feet out. He glowered at one of the humans who started to approach. They backed off, mumbling something along the lines of ‘I’ll come back in a second’ before turning away.

‘Afterwards is when he’ll need you most,’ Tracer signed. Amelie hadn’t appeared since they had told her the plan. Tracer figured she had gone rogue, destined to be all alone after they had disappeared. Tracer wished she could do something like that. Throw away everything that ever mattered and just disappear into a trench somewhere.

“Hmmph,” Jesse said. He craned his head past the people, spotting Hanzo sitting primly at the head of his boat. Tracer rolled her eyes. The merman was preening while the humans were talking around him excitedly. Hanzo glanced up through hooded eyes to spot Jesse, and tilted his chin up in greeting. Jesse tilted his hat in greeting, before Hanzo turned away to answer a question that a rather tall man in glasses was asking him.

“Eugh, Winston,” Jesse grumbled, glowering in Hanzo’s direction still.

‘Jealous?’ Tracer signed.

“No, I ain’t no schoolboy with a crush,” Jesse said, blushing nevertheless.

Tracer bumped her shoulder against his, deciding to leave it. The man from before cautiously approached them, and Tracer settled herself in for a long row of questions that wouldn’t help them get any closer to saving their kind.

The boats left way past sunset, to the point that half of the people on the boats had turned a fine shade of red. Jesse told her that they deserved it, especially the man that had been an ass to Tracer earlier in the day. Tracer was able to spend a few brief moments with Emily, who looked like she had been crying. Tracer could only hope that she wasn’t crying over her.

Zarya was in unusually good spirits, but she refused to open up about what had put her in a good mood. Instead she had pulled Hanzo and Tracer into a bonecrushing hug, careful not to stab them, and muttered something in Russian. Tracer was still puzzling over what it could’ve possible meant, for that was the happiest she had ever heard Zarya in her life.

“They’re back!” Efi shouted far below. Tracer shared a look of amusement with Hanzo. Leave it to Efi to stay up just to be the first to spot them. The small mermaid had her arm looped through Genji’s, and she was tugging him gently towards them. He was more sallow-faced than before, but he brushed off Hanzo when he rushed to help him along.

“Did they agree to help?” Genji asked, getting to the crux of it all. Tracer bit her lip, glancing at Zarya. Tracer felt a pang of sorrow. Would Zarya die too? She felt like a permanent fixture of the environment, everlasting. It was ridiculous to even consider.

“They did,” Zarya burst out. Efi cheered, punching the air in her excitement. Genji beamed, and Mei, who had just come up with Orisa, pulled the third matriarch into a hug in her excitement. Tracer couldn’t help the dumb smile on her face. They were going to be okay. Well,  _ they  _ would be someone she might never meet, but it was something.

“When will they want us to bring the eggs?” Mei asked.

“Angela said she would follow up with Hanzo or Tracer, through their respective mates. It could be a matter of weeks, so we’re expected to be patient about things,” Zarya said. She paused a moment, glancing at Efi.

“She also mentioned, that if this Winston’s studies are correct, Efi is safe enough to leave the ocean and stay at the institute,” She said. Efi shrank against Genji’s side, as they all turned to look at her.

“It’s your decision Efi, and you will have time to think on it. But it’s almost certain the rest of us have a limited amount of time, and there’s no telling what may happen to you if you’re left alone,” Zarya said.

“I—I don’t know. Orisa, what do I do?” She asked, turning to her matriarch.

“Oh Efi, you’re the bravest child I know. You will do what is right for you, and we’ll be on your side no matter what,” Orisa said.

“You should leave,” Genji said abruptly. Efi drew away from him, startled. The merman rested his head in one hand, the other balled into a fist.

“Efi. Look at me. This illness, it’s going to get all of us, just as it’s getting me. You need to leave, before it gets you,” He said.

“N-no! You’re going to be fine, just like we all are,” Efi shouted.

“I’m dying, Efi! And you will too!” Genji snarled. Hanzo grabbed his brother’s arm, and pulled him against him.

“That’s enough, Genji. You need your strength,” Hanzo said.

“Don’t tell me you think I’m going to live too, Hanzo,” Genji said, laughing. The laugh came out as a rasp, a death rattle that sent chills down Tracer’s spine.

“You’re scaring Efi, it’s not fair to her,” Tracer put in.

“It’s not fair to her to let her think everything is fine either,” Genji said, struggling against Hanzo’s grasp weakly.

“You’re not yourself,” Hanzo said sharply, tugging Genji away from the group.

“I’m trying to save Efi’s life! Do you wish her to die alone, long after we’ve all passed? Because that’s what you’re setting her up for,” Genji said, managing to wriggle out of Hanzo’s grasp briefly. Tracer lunged over, restraining Genji. She let go, startled to see how burning hot he was.

“He’s been like this for days,” Hanzo said tersely, grabbing Genji’s arm. Tracer nodded, grabbing Genji’s other arm. They pulled him as quickly as possible, while Genji shouted at the others to do something to protect Efi.

Genji went slack as the main group disappeared in the gloom. Tracer chewed her lip absently. She didn’t want to say anything, in the off chance that it set Genji off.

“I don’t want her to die alone,” Genji said softly. “she’s already seen her brother die, she doesn’t need to see the rest of us die too.”

“Yelling at her won’t get her to change her mind,” Hanzo said.

“Acting like it’s a choice in the first place isn’t going to do her any favors either,” Genji replied.

“None of us get much choice in anything,” Hanzo said.

“Yeah, suppose so,” Genji said.

“Efi is brave, she’ll go,” Tracer said. Genji lifted his head, studying her. He sighed, staring into the gloom where Efi had just been.

“I wish we could protect her, but there’s nothing to protect against,” Genji said.

“You’re getting delirious again,” Hanzo said, laying him down in the sand.

“I’m not delirious, I’ve just been thinking. It’s all I can do anymore now that I can barely swim,” Genji said.

“Then do less of it,” Hanzo snapped.

“You know what I miss? Seaweed. Can’t beat it,” Genji said, ignoring Hanzo’s tone of voice completely.

“I can get you some,” Tracer offered.

“No. I will. He, ah, prefers a certain kind,” Hanzo said, swimming off before she could ask why he couldn’t just describe it to her.

“You know as well as I he’s going to be ruined when I die,” Genji said.

“Don’t say that,” Tracer said, startled.

“I don’t understand why everyone tiptoes around my death,” Genji said sourly.

“Because we love you, and it’s hard, it’s too hard to say goodbye,” Tracer said, keening low in her throat. Genji reached out and took her hand in his.

“Lena, it will be okay,” Genji said. He swallowed, thinking for a long moment, “it’s not so scary, dying. It’s the worrying about you guys.”

“That’s why I-I know I shouldn’t have yelled at Efi like that. I just cannot imagine her suffering like I am, all because she was too afraid to leave,” He said.

“I’ll talk to her about it, I promise,” Tracer said. Genji nodded, loosening his grip on her hand. He rested his head in the sand, shutting his eyes.

“Is he okay?” Hanzo called, rushing to kneel beside Genji.

“Yeah, yeah he’s okay, we were just talking,” Tracer said quickly.

“Damn it Tracer, now he’s going to make me eat,” Genji whined.

“You didn’t tell me you were playing dead!” Tracer said.

“I went all the way to get you some seaweed, your damn right I’m going to make you eat it,” Hanzo said. He carefully lifted Genji’s head and shifted so his head rested in his lap. Hanzo tore off a chunk of seaweed, and gave it to Genji. The merman stuffed the piece in all at once, glowering at Tracer as he did so.

“This is all your fault,” He said, mouth full.

“I’ll have to keep Tracer around if that’s what it takes,” Hanzo said dryly, handing his brother yet another piece.

“Please, no, my figure,” Genji said dramatically, pushing the seaweed away. Hanzo muttered something in Japanese, rolling his eyes at his brother.

“I’m gonna go check on Efi now. Get some sleep, Genji. You too Hanzo,” Tracer said, backing away slowly.

“You as well, Tracer,” Hanzo said.

“Don’t leave me with him!!” Genji called out weakly. Tracer waved goodbye, laughing lightly. She wouldn’t be able to get what Genji had said to her out of her head. At least it was a small mercy that he was able to be upbeat around Hanzo. She didn’t think Hanzo could take it if his little brother cracked and gave up entirely.

Tracer stared at the faint moonlight far above. She didn’t know what she was hoping for anymore. Something other than whatever this life was giving them, that much was certain. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Chapter ten!! And with this update, you will notice a very key tag has been added to the fic. Thank you so so much for being patient with me, these past two weeks have been incredibly stressful for me. 
> 
> As always, thank you for your comments! I seriously live for them, it's what keeps me updating. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thank you for reading! I have a ton of lore for this, so if you're particularly nosy, don't be afraid to message me! You can find me on my tumblr starameter.tumblr.com. thank you again!


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